- 

" 


1. 


. 


Entered  according  to   Act   of    Congress,    in  the   year    1877, 

by  TULLIDGE  &  GRAND  ALL. 
In  the   office   of  the   Librarian   of  Congress,    at  Washington, 


Bancroft  Library 


PREFACE. 

Long  enough,  O  women  of  America,  have  your 
Mormon  sisters  been  blasphemed ! 

From  the  day  that  they,  in  the  name  and  fear  of 
the  Lord  their  God,  undertook  to  "build  up  Zion," 
they  have  been  persecuted  for  righteousness  sake: 
"A  people  scattered  and  peeled  from  the  begin- 
ning." 

The  record  of  their  lives  is  now  sent  unto  you, 
that  you  may  have  an  opportunity  to  judge  them 
in  the  spirit  of  righteousness.  So  shall  you  be 
judged  by  Him  whom  they  have  honored,  whose 
glory  they  have  sought,  and  whose  name  they  have 
magnified. 

Respectfully, 

EDWARD  W.  TULLIDGE. 
Salt  Lake  City,  March,  1877. 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  I. — A  Strange  Religious  Epic.  An  Israelitish  Type  of  Woman  in  the 
Age. 

CHAPTER  II.— The  Mother  of  the  Prophet.  The  Gifts  of  Inspiration  and 
Working  of  Miracles  Inherent  in  her  Family.  Fragments  of  her  Narrative. 

CHAPTER  III. — The  Opening  of  a  Spiritual  Dispensation  to  America.  Woman's 
Exaltation.  The  Light  of  the  Latter  Days. 

CHAPTER  IV.— Birth  of  the  Church.  Kirtland  as  the  Bride,  in  the  Chambers 
of  the  Wilderness.  The  Early  Gathering.  "  Mother  Whitney,"  and  Eliza 
R- Snow. 

CHAPTER  V. — The  Voice,  and  the  Messenger  of  the  Covenant. 

CHAPTER  VI.— An  Angel  from  the  Cloud  is  Heard  in  Kirtland.  The  "  Daugh- 
ter of  the  Voice." 

CHAPTER  VII. — An  Israel  Prepared  by  Visions,  Dreams  and  Angels.  Inter- 
esting and  Miraculous  Story  of  Parley  P.  Pratt  A  Mystic  Sign  of  Messiah 
in  the  Heavens.  The  Angel's  Words  Fulfilled. 

CHAPTER  VIII. — War  of  the  Invisible  Powers.  Their  Master.  Jehovah's 
Medium. 

CHAPTER  IX. — Eliza  R.  Snow's  Experience.  Glimpses  of  the  Life  and  Charac- 
ter of  Joseph  Smith.  Gathering  of  the  Saints. 

CHAPTER  X. — The  Latter-Day  Iliad.  Reproduction  of  the  Great  Hebraic 
Drama.  The  Meaning  of  the  Mormon  Movement  in  the  Age. 

CHAPTER  XI. — The  Land  of  Temples.  America  the  New  Jerusalem.  Daring 
Conception  of  the  Mormon  Prophet.  Fulfillment  of  the  Abrahamic  Pro- 
gramme. Woman  to  be  an  Oracle  of  Jehovah. 

CHAPTER  XII. — Eliza  R.  Snow's  Graphic  Description  of  the  Temple  and  its 
Dedication.  Hosannas  to  God.  His  Glory  Fills  the  House. 

CHAPTER  XIII. — The  Ancient  Order  of  Blessings.  The  Prophet's  Father. 
The  Patriarch's  Mother.  His  Father.  Kirtland  High  School.  Apostasy 
and  Persecution.  Exodus  of  the  Church. 


VI  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  XIV.— An  Illustrious  Mormon  Woman.  The  First  Wife  of  the  Im- 
mortal Heber  C.  Kimball.  Opening  Chapter  of  her  Autobiography.  Her 
Wonderful  Vision.  An  Army  of  Angels  Seen  in  the  Heavens. 

CHAPTER  XV. — Haun's  Mill.  Joseph  Young's  Story  of  the  Massacre.  Sister 
Amanda  Smith's  Story  of  that  Terrible  Tragedy.  Her  Wounded  Boy's 
Miraculous  Cure.  Her  Final  Escape  from  Missouri. 

CHAPTER  XVI.— Mobs  Drive  the  Settlers  into  Far  West.  Heroic  Death  of 
Apostle  Patten.  Treachery  of  Col.  Hinkle,  and  Fall  of  the  Mormon  Capi- 
tal. Famous  Speech  of  Major- General  Clarke. 

CHAPTER  XVII. — Episodes  of  the  Persecutions.  Continuation  of  Eliza  R. 
Snow's  Narrative.  Bathsheba  W.  Smith's  Story.  Louisa  F.  Wells  Intro- 
duced to  the  Reader.  Experience  of  Abigail  Leonard.  Margaret  Foutz. 

CHAPTER  XVIII. — Joseph  Smith's  Daring  Answer  to  the  Lord.  Woman, 
through  Mormonism,  Restored  to  her  True  Position.  The  Themes  of 
Mormonism. 

CHAPTER  XIX. — Eliza  R.  Snow's  Invocation.  The  Eternal  Father  and  Mother. 
Origin  of  the  Sublime  Thought  Popularly  Attributed  to  Theodore  Parker. 
Basic  Idea  of  the  Mormon  Theology. 

CHAPTER  XX.— The  Trinity  of  Motherhood.  Eve,  Sarah,  and  Zion.  The 
Mormon  Theory  Concerning  our  First  Parents. 

CHAPTER  XXI. — The  Huntingtons.  Zina  D.  Young,  and  Prescindia  L.  Kim- 
ball.  Their  Testimony  Concerning  the  Kirtland  Manifestations.  Unpub- 
lished Letter  of  Joseph  Smith.  Death  of  Mother  Huntington. 

CHAPTER  XXII. — Woman's  Work  in  Canada  and  Great  Britain.  Heber  C. 
KimbalTs  Prophesy.  Parley  P.  Pratt's  Successful  Mission  to  Canada.  A 
Blind  Woman  Miraculously  Healed.  Distinguished  Women  of  that  Period. 

CHAPTER  XXIII. — A  Distinguished  Canadian  Convert.  Mrs.  M.  I.  Home. 
Her  Early  History.  Conversion  to  Mormonism.  She  Gathers  with  the 
Saints  and  Shares  their  Persecutions.  Incidents  of  her  Early  Connection 
with  the  Church. 

CHAPTER  XXIV. — Mormonism  Carried  to  Great  Britain.  "Truth  will  Pre- 
vail." The  Rev.  Mr.  Fielding.  First  Baptism  in  England.  First  Woman 
Babtized.  Story  of  Miss  Jeannetta  Richards.  First  Branch  of  the  Church 
in  Foreign  Lands  Organized  at  the  House  of  Ann  Dawson.  First  Child 
Born  into  the  Church  in  England.  Romantic  Sequel.  Vilate  Kimball 
Again. 

CHAPTER  XXV.— Sketch  of  the  Sisters  Mary  and  Mercy  R.  Fielding.  The 
Fieldings  a  Semi-Apostolic  Family.  Their  Important  Instrumentality  in 
Opening  the  British  Mission.  Mary  Fielding  Marries  Hyrum  Smith.  Her 
Trials  and  Sufferings  while  her  Husband  is  in  Prison.  Testimony  of  her 
Sister  Mercy.  Mary's  Letter  to  her  Brother  in  England. 


CONTENTS.  Vii 

CHAPTER  XXVI. — The  Quorum  of  the  Apostles  go  on  Mission  to  England. 
Their  Landing  in  Great  Britain.  They  Hold  a  Conference.  A  Holiday 
Festival.  Mother  Moon  and  Family.  Summary  of  a  Year's  Labor.  Crown- 
ing Period  of  the  British  Mission. 

CHAPTER  XXVII. — The  Sisters  as  Missionaries.  Evangelical  Diplomacy. 
Without  Purse  or  Scrip.  Picture  .of  the  Native  Elders.  A  Specimen 
Meeting.  The  Secret  of  Success.  Mormonism  a  Spiritual  Gospel.  The 
Sisters  as  Tract  Distributers.  Woman  a  Potent  Evangelist. 

CHAPTER  XXVIII. — Mormonism  and  the  Queen  of  England.  Presentation  of 
the  Book  of  Mormon  to  the  Queen  and  Prince  Albert.  Eliza  R.  Snow's 
Poem  on  that  Event.  "Zion's  Nursing  Mother."  Heber  C.  Kimball 
Blesses  Victoria. 

CHAPTER  XXIX. — Literal  Application  of  Christ's  Command.  The  Saints  Leave 
Father  and  Mother,  Home  and  Friends,  to  Gather  to  Zion.  Mrs.  William 
Staines.  Her  Early  Life  and  Experience.  A  Midnight  Baptism  in  Mid- 
winter. Farewell  to  Home  and  Every  Friend.  Incidents  of  the  Journey 
to  Nauvoo. 

CHAPTER  XXX. — Rise  of  Nauvoo.  Introduction  of  Polygamy.  Martyrdom 
of  Joseph  and  Hyrum.  Continuation  of  Eliza  R.  Snow's  Narrative.  Her 
Acceptance  of  Polygamy,  and  Marriage  to  the  Prophet.  Governor  Carlin's 
Treachery.  Her  Scathing  Review  of  the  Martyrdom.  Mother  Lucy's 
Story  of  Her  Murdered  Sons. 

CHAPTER  XXXI. — The  Exodus.  To  Your  Tents,  O  Israel.  Setting  out  from 
the  Borders  of  Civilization.  Movements  of  the  Camp  of  Israel.  First 
Night  at  Sugar  Creek.  Praising  God  in  the  Song  and  Dance.  Death  by 
the  Wayside. 

CHAPTER  XXXII  — Continuation  of  Eliza  R.  Snow's  Narrative.  Advent  of  a 
Little  Stranger  Under  Adverse  Circumstances.  Dormitory,  Sitting-Room, 
Office,  etc.,  in  a  Buggy.  "  The  Camp."  Interesting  Episodes  of  the  Jour- 
ney. Graphic  Description  of  the  Method  of  Procedure.  Mount  Pisgah. 
Winter  Quarters. 

CHAPTER  XXXIII. — Bathsheba  W.  Smith's  Story  of  the  Last  Days  of  Nauvoo. 
She  Receives  Celestial  Marriage  and  Gives  Her  Husband  Five  "  Honora- 
ble Young  Women"  as  Wives.  Her  Description  of  the  Exodus  and  Jour- 
ney to  Winter  Quarters.  Death  of  One  of  the  Wives.  Sister  Home  Again. 

CHAPTER  XXXIV.— The  Story  of  the  Huntington  Sisters  Continued.  Zina  D. 
Young's  Pathetic  Picture  of  the  Martyrdom.  Joseph's  Mantle  Falls  Upon 
Brigham  The  Exodus.  A  Birth  on  the  Banks  of  the  Chariton.  Death 
of  Father  Huntington. 

CHAPTER  XXXV.— The  Pioneers.  The  Pioneer  Companies  that  Followed. 
Method  of  the  March.  Mrs.  Home  on  the  Plains.  The  Emigrant's  Post- 
Office.  Pentecosts  by  the  Way.  Death  as  they  Journeyed.  A  Feast  in 
the  Desert.  "  Aunt  Louisa  "  Again. 


Vlll  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  XXXVI. — Bathsheba  W.  Smith's  Story  Continued.  The  Pioneers 
Return  to  Winter  Quarters.  A  New  Presidency  Chosen.  Oliver  Cowdery 
Returns  to  the  Church.  Gathering  the  Remnant  from  Winter  Quarters. 
Description  of  her  House  on  Wheels. 

CHAPTER  XXXVII.—  The  Martyred  Patriarch's  Widow.  A  Woman's  Strength 
and  Independence.  The  Captain  "  Leaves  Her  Out  in  the  Cold."  Her 
Prophesy  and  Challenge  to  the  Captain.  A  Pioneer  Indeed.  She  is  Led 
by  Inspiration.  The  Seeric  Gift  of  the  Smiths  \vith  her  Her  Cattle.  The 
Race.  Fate  Against  the  Captain.  The  Widow's  Prophesy  Fulfilled. 

CHAPTER  XXXVIII. — Utah  in  the  Early  Days.  President  Young's  Primitive 
Home.  Raising  the  Stars  and  Stripes  on  Mexican  Soil.  The  Historical 
Thread  up  to  the  Period  of  the  "  Utah  War." 

CHAPTER  XXXIX. — The  Women  of  Mormondom  in  the  Period  of  the  Utak 
War.  Their  Heroic  Resolve  to  Desolate  the  Land.  The  Second  Exodus. 
Mrs.  Carrington.  Governor  Cumming's  Wife.  A  Nation  of  Heroes. 

CHAPTER  XL. — Miriam  Works  and  Mary  Ann  Angell.  Scenes  of  the  Past. 
Death-Bed  of  Miriam.  Early  Days  of  Mary.  Her  Marriage  with  Brig- 
ham.  The  Good  Step-mother.  She  Bears  her  Cross  in  the  Persecutions. 
A  Battle  with  Death.  Polygamy.  Mary  in  the  Exodus  and  at  Winter 
Quarters.  The  Hut  in  the  Valley.  Closing  a  Worthy  Life. 

CHAPTER  XLI. — The  Revelation  on  Polygamy.  Bishop  Whitney  Preserves  a 
Copy  of  the  Original  Document.  Belinda  M.  Pratt's  Famous  Letter. 

CHAPTER  XLII. — Revelation  Supported  by  Biblical  Examples.  The  Israelitish 
Genius  of  the  Mormons  Shown  in  the  Patriarchal  Nature  of  their  Institu- 
tions. The  Anti-Polygamic  Crusade. 

CHAPTER  XLIII. — Grand  Mass-meeting  of  the  Women  of  Utah  on  Polygamy 
and  the  Cullom  BilL  Their  Noble  Remonstrance.  Speeches  of  Apostolic 
Women.  Their  Resolutions.  Woman's  Rights  or  Woman's  Revolution. 

CHAPTER  XLIV. — Wives  of  the  Apostles.  Mrs.  Orson  Hyde.  Incidents  of 
the  Early  Days.  The  Prophet.  Mary  Ann  Pratt's  Life  Story.  Wife  of 
Gen.  Charles  C.  Rich.  Mrs.  Franklin  D.  Richards.  Phoebe  Woodruff: 
Leonora  Taylor.  Marian  Ross  Pratt.  The  Wife  of  Delegate  Cannon. 
Vilate  Kimball  Again. 

CHAPTER  XLV. — Mormon  Women  of  Martha  Washington's  Time.  Aunt 
Rhoda  Richards.  Wife  of  the  First  Mormon  Bishop,  Honorable  Women 
of  Zion. 

CHAPTER  XLVI. — Mormon  Women  whose  Ancestors  were  on  board  the 
"  Mayflower."  A  Bradford,  and  Descendant  of  the  Second  Governor  of 
Plymouth  Colony.  A  Descendant  of  Rogers,  the  Martyr.  The  Three 
Women  who  came  with  the  Pioneers.  The  First  Woman  Born  in  Utah. 
Women  of  the  Camp  of  Zion.  Women  of  the  Mormon  Batallion. 


CONTENTS.  ix 

CHAPTER  XLVII. — One  of  the  Founders  of  California.  A  Woman  Missionary 
to  the  Society  Islands.  Her  Life  Among  the  Natives.  The  only  Mormon 
Woman  Sent  on  Mission  without  Her  Husband.  A  Mormon  Woman  in 
Washington.  A  Sister  from  the  East  Indies.  A  Sister  from  Texas. 

CHAPTER  XLVIII.— A  Leader  from  England.  Mrs.  Hannah  T.  King.  A 
Macdonald  from  Scotland.  The  "  Welsh  Queen."  A  Representative  Wo- 
man from  Ireland.  Sister  Howard.  A  Galaxy  of  the  Sisterhood,  from 
"  Many  Nations  and  Tongues."  Incidents  and  Testimonials. 

CHAPTER  XLIX. — The  Message  to  Jerusalem.  The  Ancient  Tones  of  Mor- 
monism.  The  Mormon  High  Priestess  in  the  Holy  Land.  On  the  Mount 
of  Olives.  Officiating  for  the  Royal  House  of  Judah. 

CHAPTER  L. — Woman's  Position  in  the  Mormon  Church.  Grand  Female  Or- 
ganization of  Mormonism.  The  Relief  Society.  Its  Inception  at  Nauvoo. 
Its  Present  Status,  Aims,  and  Methods.  First  Society  Building.  A  Wo- 
man Lays  the  Corner-stone.  Distinguished  Women  of  the  Various  Societies. 

CHAPTER  LI. — The  Sisters  and  the  Marriage  Question.  The  Women  of  Utah 
Enfranchised.  Passage  of  the  Woman  Suffrage  Bill.  A  Political  Contest 
The  First  Woman  that  Voted  in  Utah. 

CHAPTER  LII. — The  Lie  of  the  Enemy  Refuted.  A  View  of  the  Women  in 
Council  over  Female  Suffrage.  The  Sisters  know  their  Political  Power. 

CHAPTER  LIU. — Members  of  Congress  Seek  to  Disfranchise  the  Women  of  Utah. 
Claggett's  Assault.  The  Women  of  America  Come  to  their  Aid.  Charles 
Sumner  About  to  Espouse  their  Cause.  Death  Prevents  the  Great  States- 
man's Design. 

CHAPTER  LI V.— Woman  Expounds  Her  Own  Subject.  The  Fall.  Her  Re- 
demption from  the  Curse.  Returning  into  the  Presence  of  Her  Father. 
Her  Exaltation. 

CHAPTER  LV. — Woman's  Voice  in  the  Press  of  Utah.  The  Woman's  Expo- 
nent. Mrs.  Emeline  Wells.  She  Speaks  for  the  Women  of  Utah.  Lit- 
erary and  Professional  Women  of  the  Church. 

CHAPTER  LVI. — Retrospection.  Apostolic  Mission  of  the  Mormon  Women. 
How  they  have  Used  the  Suffrage.  Their  Petition  to  Mrs.  Grant.  Twenty- 
seven  Thousand  Mormon  Women  Memorialize  Congress. 

CHAPTER  LVIL— Sarah  the  Mother  of  the  Covenant.  In  Her  the  Expound- 
ing of  the  Polygamic  Relations  of  the  Mormon  Women.  Fulfilment  of 
God's  Promise  to  Her.  The  Mormon  Parallel.  Sarah  and  Hagar  divide 
the  Religious  Domination  of  the  World. 

CHAPTER  LVIII. — Womanhood  the  Regenerating  Influence  in  the  World. 
From  Eve,  the  First,  to  Mary,  the  Second  Eve.  God  and  Woman  the 
Hope  of  Man.  Woman's  Apostleship.  Joseph  vs.  Paul.  The  Woman 
Nature  a  Predicate  of  the  World's  Future. 


Vlll  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  XXXVI.— Bathsheba  W.  Smith's  Story  Continued.  The  Pioneers 
Return  to  "Winter  Quarters.  A  New  Presidency  Chosen.  Oliver  Cowdery 
Returns  to  the  Church.  Gathering  the  Remnant  from  Winter  Quarters. 
Description  of  her  House  on  Wheels. 

CHAPTER  XXXVII.— The  Martyred  Patriarch's  Widow.  A  Woman's  Strength 
and  Independence.  The  Captain  "Leaves  Her  Out  in  the  Cold."  Her 
Prophesy  and  Challenge  to  the  Captain.  A  Pioneer  Indeed.  She  is  Led 
by  Inspiration.  The  Seeric  Gift  of  the  Smiths  v/ith  her  Her  Cattle.  The 
Race.  Fate  Against  the  Captain.  The  Widow's  Prophesy  Fulfilled. 

CHAPTER  XXXVIII. — Utah  in  the  Early  Days.  President  Young's  Primitive 
Home.  Raising  the  Stars  and  Stripes  on  Mexican  Soil.  The  Historical 
Thread  up  to  the  Period  of  the  "  Utah  War." 

CHAPTER  XXXIX.— The  Women  of  Mormondom  in  the  Period  of  the  Utah, 
War.  Their  Heroic  Resolve  to  Desolate  the  Land.  The  Second  Exodus. 
Mrs.  Carrington.  Governor  Cumming's  Wife.  A  Nation  of  Heroes. 

CHAPTER  XL. — Miriam  Works  and  Mary  Ann  Angell.  Scenes  of  the  Past. 
Death-Bed  of  Miriam.  Early  Days  of  Mary.  Her  Marriage  with  Brig- 
ham.  The  Good  Step-mother.  She  Bears  her  Cross  in  the  Persecutions. 
A  Battle  with  Death.  Polygamy.  Mary  in  the  Exodus  and  at  Winter 
Quarters.  The  Hut  in  the  Valley.  Closing  a  Worthy  Life. 

CHAPTER  XLI. — The  Revelation  on  Polygamy.  Bishop  Whitney  Preserves  a 
Copy  of  the  Original  Document.  Belinda  M.  Pratt's  Famous  Letter. 

CHAPTER  XLI  I. — Revelation  Supported  by  Biblical  Examples.  The  Israelitish 
Genius  of  the  Mormons  Shown  in  the  Patriarchal  Nature  of  their  Institu- 
tions. The  Anti-Polygamic  Crusade. 

CHAPTER  XLIII. — Grand  Mass-meeting  of  the  Women  of  Utah  on  Polygamy 
and  the  Cullom  Bill.  Their  Noble  Remonstrance.  Speeches  of  Apostolic 
Women.  Their  Resolutions.  Woman's  Rights  or  Woman's  Revolution. 

CHAPTER  XLIV. — Wives  of  the  Apostles.  Mrs.  Orson  Hyde.  Incidents  of 
the  Early  Days.  The  Prophet.  Mary  Ann  Pratt's  Life  Story.  Wife  of 
Gen.  Charles  C.  Rich.  Mrs.  Franklin  D.  Richards.  Phccbe  Woodruff: 
Leonora  Taylor.  Marian  Ross  Pratt.  The  Wife  of  Delegate  Cannon. 
Vilate  Kimball  Again. 

CHAPTER  XLV. — Mormon  Women  of  Martha  Washington's  Time.  Aunt 
Rhoda  Richards.  Wife  of  the  First  Mormon  Bishop,  Honorable  Women 
of  Zion. 

CHAPTER  XLVI. — Mormon  Women  whose  Ancestors  were  on  board  the 
"  Mayflower."  A  Bradford,  and  Descendant  of  the  Second  Governor  of 
Plymouth  Colony.  A  Descendant  of  Rogers,  the  Martyr.  The  Three 
Women  who  came  with  the  Pioneers.  The  First  Woman  Born  in  Utah. 
Women  of  the  Camp  of  Zion.  Women  of  the  Mormon  Batallion. 


CONTENTS.  ix 

CHAPTER  XLVII. — One  of  the  Founders  of  California.  A  Woman  Missionary 
to  the  Society  Islands.  Her  Life  Among  the  Natives.  The  only  Mormon 
Woman  Sent  on  Mission  without  Her  Husband.  A  Mormon  Woman  in 
Washington.  A  Sister  from  the  East  Indies.  A  Sister  from  Texas. 

CHAPTER  XLVIII. — A  Leader  from  England.  Mrs.  Hannah  T.  King.  A 
Macdonald  from  Scotland.  The  "Welsh  Queen."  A  Representative  Wo- 
man from  Ireland.  Sister  Howard.  A  Galaxy  of  the  Sisterhood,  from 
"  Many  Nations  and  Tongues."  Incidents  and  Testimonials. 

CHAPTER  XLIX. — The  Message  to  Jerusalem.  The  Ancient  Tones  of  Mor- 
monism.  The  Mormon  High  Priestess  in  the  Holy  Land.  On  the  Mount 
of  Olives.  Officiating  for  the  Royal  House  of  Judah. 

CHAPTER  L. — Woman's  Position  in  the  Mormon  Church.  Grand  Female  Or- 
ganization of  Mormonism.  The  Relief  Society.  Its  Inception  at  Nauvoo. 
Its  Present  Status,  Aims,  and  Methods.  First  Society  Building.  A  Wo- 
man Lays  the  Corner-stone.  Distinguished  Women  of  the  Various  Societies. 

CHAPTER  LI. — The  Sisters  and  the  Marriage  Question.  The  Women  of  Utah 
Enfranchised.  Passage  of  the  Woman  Suffrage  Bill.  A  Political  Contest 
The  First  Woman  that  Voted  in  Utah. 

CHAPTER  LII. — The  Lie  of  the  Enemy  Refuted.  A  View  of  the  Women  in 
Council  over  Female  Suffrage.  The  Sisters  know  their  Political  Power. 

CHAPTER  LIII. — Members  of  Congress  Seek  to  Disfranchise  the  Women  of  Utah. 
Claggett's  Assault.  The  Women  of  America  Come  to  their  Aid.  Charles 
Sumner  About  to  Espouse  their  Cause.  Death  Prevents  the  Great  States- 
man's Design. 

CHAPTER  LI V.— Woman  Expounds  Her  Own  Subject.  The  Fall.  Her  Re- 
demption from  the  Curse.  Returning  into  the  Presence  of  Her  Father. 
Her  Exaltation. 

CHAPTER  LV. — Woman's  Voice  in  the  Press  of  Utah.  The  Woman's  Expo- 
nent. Mrs.  Emeline  Wells.  She  Speaks  for  the  Women  of  Utah.  Lit- 
erary and  Professional  Women  of  the  Church. 

CHAPTER  LVI. — Retrospection.  Apostolic  Mission  of  the  Mormon  Women. 
How  they  have  Used  the  Suffrage.  Their  Petition  to  Mrs.  Grant.  Twenty- 
seven  Thousand  Mormon  Women  Memorialize  Congress. 

CHAPTER  LVIL— Sarah  the  Mother  of  the  Covenant.  In  Her  the  Expound- 
ing of  the  Polygamic  Relations  of  the  Mormon  Women.  Fulfilment  of 
God's  Promise  to  Her.  The  Mormon  Parallel.  Sarah  and  Hagar  divide 
the  Religious  Domination  of  the  World. 

CHAPTER  LVIII. — Womanhood  the  Regenerating  Influence  in  the  World. 
From  Eve,  the  First,  to  Mary,  the  Second  Eve.  God  and  Woman  the 
Hope  of  Man.  Woman's  Apostleship.  Joseph  vs.  Paul.  The  Woman 
Nature  a  Predicate  of  the  World's  Future. 


X  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  LIX. — Zion,  a  Type  of  "The  Woman's  Age."  The  Culminating 
Theme  of  the  Poets  of  Israel.  The  Ideal  Personification  of  the  Church. 
The  Bride.  The  Coming  Eve. 

CHAPTER  LX. — Terrible  as  an  Army  with  Banners.  Fifty  Thousand  Women 
with  the  Ballot.  Their  Grand  Mission  to  the  Nation.  A  Foreshadowing 
of  the  Future  of  the  Women  of  Mormondom. 


CHAPTER  I. 

A    STRANGE    RELIGIOUS    EPIC — AN     ISRAELITISH    TYPE 
OF    WOMAN    IN    THE    AGE. 

AN  epic  of  woman  !  Not  in  all  the  ages  has 
there  been  one  like  unto  it. 

Fuller  of  romance  than  works  of  fiction  are  the 
lives  of  the  Mormon  women.  So  strange  and  thrill- 
ing is  their  story, — so  rare  in  its  elements  of  expe- 
rience,— that  neither  history  nor  fable  affords  a 
perfect  example  ;  yet  is  it  a  reality  of  our  own  times. 

Women  with  new  types  of  character,  antique 
rather  than  modern  ;  themes  ancient,  but  transposed 
to  our  latter-day  experience.  Women  with  their 
eyes  open,  and  the  prophecy  of  their  work  and 
mission  in  their  own  utterances,  who  have  dared  to 
enter  upon  the  path  of  religious  empire-founding 
with  as  much  divine  enthusiasm  as  had  the  apostles 
who  founded  Christendom.  Such  are  the  Mormon 
women, — religious  empire-founders,  in  faith  and  fact. 
Never  till  now  did  woman  essay  such  an  extraordinary 
character  ;  never  before  did  woman  rise  to  the  con- 
ception of  so  supreme  a  mission  in  her  own  person 
and  life. 

We  can  only  understand  the  Mormon  sisterhood 
by  introducing  them  in  this  cast  at  the  very  outset ; 
only  comprehend  the  wonderful  story  of  their  lives 


2  THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM. 

by  viewing  them  as  apostles,  who  have  heard  the 
voices  of  the  invisibles  commanding  them  to  build 
the  temples  of  a  new  faith. 

Let  us  forget,  then,  thus  early  in  their  story,  all 
reference  to  polygamy  or  monogamy.  Rather  let  us 
think  of  them  as  apostolic  mediums  of  a  new  reve- 
lation, who  at  first  saw  only  a  dispensation  of  divine 
innovations  and  manifestations  for  the  age.  Let  us 
view  them  purely  as  prophetic  women,  who  under- 
took to  found  their  half  of  a  new  Christian  empire, 
and  we  have  exactly  the  conception  with  which 
to  start  the  epic  story  of  the  Women  of  Mor- 
mondom. 

They  had  been  educated  by  the  Hebrew  Bible, 
and  their  minds  cast  by  its  influence,  long  before 
they  saw  the  book  of  Mormon  or  heard  the  Mor- 
mon prophet.  The  examples  of  the  ancient  apos- 
tles were  familiar  to  them,  and  they  had  yearned  for 
the  pentecosts  of  the  early  days.  But  most  had 
they  been  enchanted  by  the  themes  of  the  old 
Jewish  prophets,  whose  writings  had  inspired  them 
with  faith  in  the  literal  renewal  of  the  covenant  with 
Israel,  and  the  "restitution  of  all  things"  of  Abra- 
hamic  promise.  This  was  the  case  with  nearly  all 
of  the  early  disciples  of  Mormonism, — men  and 
women.  They  were  not  as  sinners  converted  to 
Christianity,  but  as  disciples  who  had  been  waiting  for 
the  "  fullness  of  the  everlasting  gospel."  Thus  had 
they  been  prepared  for  the  new  revelation, — an 
Israel  born  unto  the  promises, — an  Israel  afterwards 
claiming  that  in  a  pre-existent  state  they  were  the 
elect  of  God.  They  had  also  inherited  their  earnest 
religious  characters  from  their  fathers  and  mothers. 


THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM.  3 

The  pre-natal  influences  of  generations  culminated 
in  the  bringing  forth  of  this  Mormon  Israel. 

And  here  we  come  to  the  remarkable  fact  that 
the  women  who,  with  its  apostles  and  elders,  founded 
Mormondom,  were  the  Puritan  daughters  of  New  En- 
gland, even  as  were  their  compeer  brothers  its  sons. 

Sons  and  daughters  of  the  sires  and  mothers  who 
founded  this  great  nation  ;  sons  and  daughters  of 
the  sires  and  mothers  who  fought  and  inspired  the 
war  of  the  revolution,  and  gave  to  this  continent  a 
magna  charta  of  religious  and  political  liberty ! 
Their  stalwart  fathers  also  wielded  the  "  sword  of 
the  Lord"  in  old  England,  with  Cromwell  and  his 
Ironsides,  and  the  self-sacrificing  spirit  of  their  pil- 
grim mothers  sustained  New  England  in  the  heat 
and  burden  of  the  day,  while  its  primeval  forests 
were  being  cleared,  even  as  these  pilgrim  Mormons 
pioneered  our  nation  the  farthest  West,  and  con- 
verted the  great  American  desert  into  fruitful  fields. 

That  those  who  established  the  Mormon  Church 
are  of  this  illustrious  origin  we  shall  abundantly 
see,  in  the  record  of  these  lives,  confirmed  by  direct 
genealogical  links.  Some  of  their  sires  were  even 
governors  of  the  British  colonies  at  their  \ery  rise  : 
instance  the  ancestor  of  Daniel  H.  Wells,  one  of 
the  presidents  of  the  Mormon  Church,  who  was 
none  other  than  the  illustrious  Thomas  Wells, 
fourth  governor  of  Connecticut ;  instance  the  pil- 
grim forefather  of  the  apostles  Orson  and  Parley 
Pratt,  who  came  from  England  to  America  in  1633, 
and  with  the  Rev.  Thomas  Hooker  and  his  con- 
gregation pioneered  through  dense  wildernesses, 
inhabited  only  by  savages  and  wild  beasts,  and 


4-  THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM. 

became  the  founders  of  the  colony  of  Hartford, 
Conn.,  in  June,  1636 ;  instance  the  Youngs,  the 
Kimballs,  the  Smiths,  the  Woodruffs,  the  Lymans, 
the  Snows,  the  Carringtons,  the  Riches,  the  Hunters, 
the  Huntingtons,  the  Patridges,  the  Whitneys,  and 
a  host  of  other  early  disciples  of  the  Mormon 
Church.  Their  ancestors  were  among  the  very 
earliest  settlers  of  the  English  colonies.  There  is 
good  reason,  indeed,  to  believe  that  on  board  the 
Mayflower  was  some  of  the  blood  that  has  been 
infused  into  the  Mormon  Church. 

This  genealogical  record,  upon  which  the  Mormon 
people  pride  themselves,  has  a  vast  meaning,  not 
only  in  accounting  for  their  empire-founding  genius 
and  religious  career,  but  also  for  their  Hebraic  types 
of  character  and  themes  of  faith.  Their  genius  is 
in  their  very  blood.  They  are,  as  observed,  a  latter- 
day  Israel, — born  inheritors  of  the  promise, — pre- 
destined apostles,  both  men  and  women,  of  the 
greater  mission  of  this  nation, — the  elect  of  the 
new  covenant  of  God,  which  America  is  destined  to 
unfold  to  "  every  nation,  kindred,  tongue  and  people." 
This  is  not  merely  an  author's  fancy  ;  it  is  an  affirm- 
ation and  a  prophecy  well  established  in  Mormon 
Mith  and  themes. 

If  we  but  truthfully  trace  the  pre-natal  expositions  of 
this  peculiar  people — and  the  sociologist  will  at  once 
recognize  in  this  method  a  very  book  of  revelation 
on  the  subject — we  shall  soon  come  to  look  upon 
thtse  strange  Israelitish  types  and  wonders  as  simply 
a  hereditary  culmination  in  the  nineteenth  century. 

Mormonism,  indeed,  is  not  altogether  a  new  faith, 
nor  a  'Yesh  inspiration  in  the  world.  The  facts  dis- 


THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM.  5 

close  that  its  genius  has  come  down  to  the  children, 
through  generations,  in  the  very  blood  which  the 
invisibles  inspired  in  old  England,  in  the  seventeenth 
century,  and  which  wrought  such  wonders  of  God 
among  the  nations  then.  That  blood  has  been 
speaking  in  our  day  with  prophet  tongue ;  those 
wonderful  works,  wrought  in  the  name  of  the  Lord 
of  Hosts,  by  the  saints  of  the  commonwealth,  to 
establish  faith  in  Israel's  God  and  reverence  for  His' 
name  above  all  earthly  powers,  are,  in  their  consum- 
mation in  America,  wrought  by  these  latter-day 
saints  in  the  same  august  name  and  for  the  same 
purpose.  He  shall  be  honored  among  the  nations; 
His  will  done  among  men  ;  His  name  praised  to  the 
ends  of  the  earth  !  Such  was  the  affirmation  of  the 
saints  of  the  commonwealth  of  England  two  hun- 
dred and  thirty  years  ago  ;  such  the  affirmation  of 
the  saints  raised  up  to  establish  the  "  Kingdom  of 
God  "  in  the  nineteenth  century.  Understand  this 
fully,  and  the  major  theme  of  Mormonism  is  com- 
prehended. It  will  have  a  matchless  exemplification 
in  the  story  of  the  lives  of  these  single-hearted, 
simple-minded,  but  grand  women,  opening  to  the 
reader's  view  the  methods  of  that  ancient  genius, 
even  to  the  establishing  of  the  patriarchal  institution 
and  covenant  of  polygamy. 

That  America  should  bring  forth  a  peculiar  peo- 
ple, like  the  Mormons,  is  as  natural  as  that  a  mother 
should  bear  children  in  the  semblance  of  the  father 
who  begat  them.  Monstrous,  indeed,  would  it  be 
if,  as  offspring  of  the  patriarchs  and  mothers  of  this 
nation,  America  brought  forth  naught  but  godless 
politicians. 


CHAPTER  II. 

THE  MOTHER  OF  THE  PROPHET THE  GIFTS  OF  INSPI- 
RATION AND  WORKING  OF  MIRACLES  INHERENT 
IN  HER  FAMILY FRAGMENTS  OF  HER  NARRATIVE. 

First  among  the  chosen  women  of  the  latter-day 
dispensation  comes  the  mother  of  the  Prophet,  to 
open  this  divine  drama. 

It  is  one  of  our  most  beautiful  and  suggestive 
proverbs  that  "  great  men  have  great  mothers."  This 
cannot  but  be  peculiarly  true  of  a  great  prophet 
whose  soul  is  conceptive  of  a  new  dispensation. 

Prophecy  is  of  the  woman.  She  endows  her  off- 
spring with  that  heaven-born  gift. 

The  father  of  Joseph  was  a  grand  patriarchal 
type.  He  was  the  Abraham  of  the  Church,  holding 
the  office  of  presiding  patriarch.  To  this  day  he  is 
remembered  and  spoken  of  by  the  early  disciples 
with  the  profoundest  veneration  and  filial  love,  and 
his  patriarchal  blessings,  given  to  them,  are  pre- 
served and  valued  as  much  as  are  the  patriarchal 
blessings  of  Abraham,  Isaac  and  Jacob  valued  by 
their  own  race. 

But  it  is  the  mother  of  the  Prophet  who  properly 
leads  in  opening  the  testament  of  the  women  of 
Mormondom.  She  was  a  prophetess  and  seeress 
born.  The  gift  of  prophecy  and  the  power  to  work 


THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM.  7 

miracles  also  inhered  in  the  family  of  Lucy  Mack, 
(her  maiden  name),  and  the  martial  spirit  which  dis- 
tinguished her  son,  making  him  a  prophet-general, 
was  quite  characteristic  of  her  race.  Of  her  brother, 
Major  Mack,  she  says : 

"  My  brother  was  in  the  city  of  Detroit  in  1812, 
"  the  year  in  which  Hull  surrendered  the  territory 
"  to  the  British  crown.  My  brother,  being  somewhat 
"  celebrated  for  his  prowess,  was  selected  by  General 
"  Hull  to  take  the  command  of  a  company  as  captain. 
"  After  a  short  service  in  this  office  he  was  ordered 
"to  surrender.  (Hull's  surrender  to  the  British). 
"  At  this  his  indignation  was  aroused  to  the  highest 
"  pitch.  He  broke  his  sword  across  his  knee,  and 
"  throwing  it  into  the  river,  exclaimed  that  he  would 
"  never  submit  to  such  a  disgraceful  compromise 
"while  the  blood  of  an  American  continued  to  flow 
"  in  his  veins." 

Lucy  Mack's  father,  Solomon  Mack,  was  a  sol- 
dier in  the  American  revolution.  He  entered  the 
army  at  the  age  of  twenty-one,  in  the  year  1755, 
and  in  the  glorious  struggle  of  his  country  for  inde- 
pendence he  enlisted  among  the  patriots  in  1776. 
With  him  were  his  two  boys,  Jason  and  Stephen, 
the  latter  being  the  same  who  afterwards  broke  his 
sword  and  cast  it  into  the  river  rather  than  surrender 
it  to  the  British. 

But  that  which  is  most  interesting  here  is  the 
seeric  gift  coupled  with  the  miracle-working  power 
of  "  Mother  Lucy's"  race.  Hers  was  a  "visionary" 
family,  in  the  main,  while  her  elder  brother,  Jason, 
was  a  strange  evangelist,  who  wandered  about  during 
his  lifetime,  by  sea  and  land,  preaching  the  gospel 


8  THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM. 

and  working  miracles.  '  This  Jason  even  attempted 
to  establish  a  body  of  Christian  communists.  Of 
him  she  says : 

"Jason,  my  oldest  brother,  was  a  studious  and 
"  manly  boy.  Before  he  had  attained  his  sixteenth 
"  year  he  became  what  was  then  called  a  '  seeker,' 
"  and  believing  that  by  prayer  and  faith  the  gifts  of 
"the  gospel,  which  were  enjoyed  by  the  ancient  dis- 
"  ciples  of  Christ,  might  be  attained,  he  labored 
"  almost  incessantly  to  convert  others  to  the  same 
"  faith.  He  was  also  of  the  opinion  that  God  would,  at 
"  some  subsequent  period,  manifest  His  power,  as  He 
"  had  anciently  done,  in  signs  and  wonders.  At  the 
"  age  of  twenty  he  became  a  preacher  of  the  gospel." 

Then  followed  a  love  episode  in  Jason's  life,  in 
which  the  young  man  was  betrayed  by  his  rival 
while  absent  in  England  on  business  with  his  father. 
The  rival  gave  out  that  Jason  had  died  in  Liverpool, 
(being  post-master,  he  had  also  intercepted  their 
correspondence,)  so  that  when  the  latter  returned 
home  he  found  his  betrothed  married  to  his  enemy. 
The  story  runs : 

"  As  soon  as  Jason  arrived  he  repaired  imme- 
"  diately  to  her  father's  house.  When  he  got  there 
"  she  was  gone  to  her  brother's  funeral ;  he  went  in, 
"  and  seated  himself  in  the  same  room  where  he  had 
"once  paid  his  addresses  to  her.  In  a  short  time 
"  she  came  home ;  when  she  first  saw  him  she  did 
"  not  know  him,  but  when  she  got  a  full  view  of  his 
"countenance  she  recognized  him,  and  instantly 
"  fainted.  From  this  time  forward  she  never  recov- 
"ered  her  health,  but,  lingering  for  two  years,  died 
"the  victim  of  disappointment. 


THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM.  9 

"  Jason  remained  in  the  neighborhood  a  short 
"time  and  then  went  to  sea,  but  he  did  not  follow 
"  the  sea  a  great  while.  He  soon  left  the  main,  and 
"  commenced  preaching,  which  he  continued  until 
"  his  death." 

Once  or  twice  during  his  lifetime  Jason  visited 
his  family ;  at  last,  after  a  silence  of  twenty  years, 
his  brother  Solomon  received  from  him  the  follow- 
ing very  evangelistic  epistle : 

"  South  Branch  of  Ormucto, 

"  Province  of  New  Brunswick, 

"June  30,  1835. 

"  MY  DEAR  BROTHER  SOLOMON  :  You  will,  no 
doubt,  be  surprised  to  hear  that  I  am  still  alive, 
although  in  an  absence  of  twenty  years  I  have  never 
written  to  you  before.  But  I  trust  you  will  forgive 
me  when  I  tell  you  that,  for  most  of  the  twenty 
years,  I  have  been  so  situated  that  I  have  had  little 
or  no  communication  with  the  lines,  and  have  been 
holding  meetings,  day  and  night,  from  place  to  place  ; 
besides  my  mind  has  been  so  taken  up  with  the 
deplorable  situation  of  the  earth,  the  darkness  in 
which  it  lies,  that,  when  my  labors  did  call  me  near 
the  lines,  I  did  not  realize  the  opportunity  which 
presented  itself  of  letting  you  know  where  I  was. 
And,  again,  I  have  designed  visiting  you  long  since, 
and  annually  have  promised  myself  that  the  suc- 
ceeding year  I  would  certainly  seek  out  my  relatives, 
and  enjoy  the  privilege  of  one  pleasing  interview 
with  them  before  I  passed  into  the  valley  and  shadow 
of  death.  But  last,  though  not  least,  let  me  not 
startle  you  when  I  say,  that,  according  to  my  early 
adopted  principles  of  the  power  of  faith,  the  Lord 
has,  in  his  exceeding  kindness,  bestowed  upon  me 
the  gift  of  healing  by  the  prayer  of  faith,  and  the 
use  of  such  simple  means  as  seem  congenial  to  the 


IO  THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM. 

human  system  ;  but  my  chief  reliance  is  upon  Him 
who  organized  us  at  the  first,  and  can  restore  at 
pleasure  that  which  is  disorganized. 

"  The  first  of  my  peculiar  success  in  this  way  was 
twelve  years  since,  and  from  nearly  that  date  I  have 
had  little  rest.  In  addition  to  the  incessant  calls 
which  I  in  a  short  time  had,  there  was  the  most 
overwhelming  torrent  of  opposition  poured  down 
upon  me  that  I  ever  witnessed.  But  it  pleased  God 
to  take  the  weak  to  confound  the  wisdom  of  the 
wise.  I  have  in  the  last  twelve  years  seen  the 
greatest  manifestations  of  the  power  of  God  in 
healing  the  sick,  that,  with  all  my  sanguinity,  I  ever 
hoped  or  imagined.  And  when  the  learned  infidel 
has  declared  with  sober  face,  time  and  again,  that 
disease  had  obtained  such  an  ascendency  that  death 
could  be  resisted  no  longer,  that  the  victim  must 
wither  beneath  his  potent  arm,  I  have  seen  the 
almost  lifeless  clay  slowly  but  surely  resuscitated 
and  revived,  till  the  pallid  monster  fled  so  far  that 
the  patient  was  left  in  the  full  bloom  of  vigorous 
health.  But  it  is  God  that  hath  done  it,  and  to  Him 
let  all  the  praise  be  given. 

"  I  am  now  compelled  to  close  this  epistle,  for  I 
must  start  immediately  on  a  journey  of  more  than 
one  hundred  miles,  to  attend  a  heavy  case  of  sick- 
ness ;  so  God  be  with  you  all.  Farewell  ! 

"  JASON    MACK." 

"  Mother  Lucy,"  in  the  interesting  accounts  of  her 
own  and  husband's  families,  tells  some  charming 
stories  of  visions,  dreams,  and  miracles  among  them, 
indicating  the  advent  of  the  latter-day  power ;  but 
the  remarkable  visions  and  mission  of  her  prophet 
son  claim  the  ruling  place.  She  says  : 

"  There  was  a  great  revival  of  religion,  which  ex- 
"  tended  to  all  the  denominations  of  Christians  in 


THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM.  II 

"the  surrounding  country  in  which  we  resided. 
"  Many  of  the  world's  people,  becoming  concerned 
"  about  the  salvation  of  their  souls,  came  forward 
"  and  presented  themselves  as  seekers  after  religion. 
"  Most  of  them  were  desirous  of  uniting  with  some 
"  church,  but  were  not  decided  as  to  the  particular 
"faith  which  they  would  adopt.  When  the  numer- 
"  ous  meetings  were  about  breaking  up,  and  the 
"  candidates  and  the  various  leading  church  mem- 
"bers  began  to  consult  upon  the  subject  of  adopting 
"  the  candidates  into  some  church  or  churches,  as 
"the  case  might  be,  a  dispute  arose,  and  there  was 
"  a  great  contention  among  them. 

"  While  these  things  were  going  forward,  Joseph's 
"  mind  became  considerably  troubled  with  regard  to 
"  religion  ;  and  the  following  extract  from  his  history 
"  will  show,  more  clearly  than  I  can  express,  the 
"  state  of  his  feelings,  and  the  result  of  his  reflec- 
"  tions  on  this  occasion  :  " 

"  I  was  at  this  time  in  my  fifteenth  year.  My 
father's  family  was  proselyted  to  the  Presbyterian 
faith,  and  four  of  them  joined  that  church,  namely, 
my  mother  Lucy,  my  brothers  Hyrum  and  Samuel 
Harrison,  and  my  sister  Sophronia. 

"  During  this  time  of  great  excitement  my  mind 
was  called  up  to  serious  reflection  and  great  uneasi- 
ness. *  *  *  *•  The  Presbyterians  were  most 
decided  against  the  Baptists  and  Methodists,  and 
used  all  their  powers  of  either  reason  or  sophistry 
to  prove  their  errors,  or  at  least  to  make  the  people 
think  they  were  in  error.  On  the  other  hand  the 
Baptists  and  Methodists,  in  their  turn,  were  equally 
zealous  to  establish  their  own  tenets  and  disprove 
all  others. 

"  In  the  midst  of  this  war  of  words,  and  tumult 


12  THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM. 

of  opinions,  I  often  said  to  myself,  what  is  to  be 
done  ?  Who,  of  all  these  parties,  are  right  ?  or, 
are  they  all  wrong  together?  If  any  one  of  them 
be  right,  which  is  it  ?  and  how  shall  I  know  it  ? 

"  While  I  was  laboring  under  the  extreme  diffi- 
culties caused  by  the  contests  of  these  parties  of 
religionists,  I  was  one  day  reading  the  epistle  of 
James,  first  chapter  and  fifth  verse,  which  reads,  '  If 
any  of  you  lack  wisdom,  let  him  ask  of  God,  that 
giveth  unto  all  men  liberally,  and  upbraideth  not, 
and  it  shall  be  given  him.'  Never  did  any  passage 
of  scripture  come  with  more  power  to  the  heart  of 
man  than  this  did  at  this  time  to  mine.  It  seemed 
to  enter  with  great  force  into  every  feeling  of  my 
heart.  I  reflected  on  it  again  and  again,  knowing 
that  if  any  person  needed  wisdom  from  God,  I  did, 
for  how  to  act  I  did  not  know,  and,  unless  I  could 

fet  more  wisdom  than  I  then  had,  would  never 
now ;  for  the  teachers  of  religion  of  the  different 
sects  understood  the  same  passage  so  differently,  as 
to  destroy  all  confidence  in  settling  the  question  by 
an  appeal  to  the  Bible.  At  length  I  came  to  the 
conclusion  that  I  must  either  remain  in  darkness 
and  confusion,  or  else  I  must  do  as  James  directs— 
that  is,  ask  of  God.  I  at  last  came  to  the  determin- 
ation to  ask  of  God  So  in  accordance  with  this 
determination  I  retired  to  the  woods  to  make  the 
attempt.  It  was  on  the  morning  of  a  beautiful  clear 
day,  early  in  the  spring  of  1820.  It  was  the  first 
time  in  my  life  that  I  had  made-  such  an  attempt ; 
for  amidst  all  my  anxieties  I  had  never  as  yet  made 
the  attempt  to  pray  vocally.  After  I  had  retired 
into  the  place  where  I  had  previously  designed  to 
go,  having  looked  around  me,  and  finding  myself 
alone,  I  knelt  down  and  began  to  offer  up  the  de- 
sires of  my  heart  to  God.  I  had  scarcely  done  so, 
when  immediately  I  was  seized  upon  by  some  power 
which  entirely  overcame  me,  and  had  such  astonish- 


THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM  13 

ing  influence  over  me  as  to  bind  my  tongue,  so  that 
I  could  not  speak.  Thick  darkness  gathered  around 
me,  and  it  seemed  to  me  for  a  time  as  if  I  were 
doomed  to  sudden  destruction.  But  exerting  all  my 
powers  to  call  upon  God  to  deliver  me  out  of  the 
power  of  this  enemy  which  had  seized  upon  me,  and 
at  the  very  moment  when  I  was  ready  to  sink  into 
despair,  and  abandon  myself  to  destruction — not  to 
an  imaginary  ruin,  but  to  the  power  of  some  actual 
being  from  the  unseen  world,  who  had  such  a  mar- 
velous power  as  I  had  never  before  felt  in  any  being — 
just  at  this  moment  of  great  alarm,  I  saw  a  pillar  of 
light  exactly  over  my  head,  above  the  brightness  of 
the  sun,  which  descended  gradually  until  it  fell  upon 
me.  It  no  sooner  appeared  than  I  found  myself 
delivered  from  the  enemy  which  held  me  bound. 
When  the  light  rested  upon  me  I  saw  two  person- 
ages, whose  brightness  and  glory  defy  all  description, 
standing  above  me  in  the  air.  One  of  them  spake 
unto  me,  calling  me  by  name,  and  said,  pointing  to 
the  other,  *  this  is  my  beloved  son,  hear  him  : ' 

"  My  object  in  going  to  inquire  of  the  Lord,  was 
to  know  which  of  all  these  sects  was  right,  that  I 
might  know  which  to  join.  No  sooner,  therefore, 
did  I  get  possession  of  myself,  so  as  to  be  able  to 
speak,  than  I  asked  the  personages  who  stood  above 
me  in  the  light,  which  of  all  the  sects  was  right — 
for  at  this  time  it  had  never  entered  into  my  heart 
that  all  were  wrong — and  which  I  should  join.  I 
was  answered  that  I  should  join  none  of  them,  for 
they  were  all  wrong ;  and  the  personage  who  ad- 
dressed me  said  that  all  their  creeds  were  an  abom- 
ination in  His  sight;  that  those  professors  were  all 
corrupt.  'They  draw  near  me  with  their  lips,  but 
their  hearts  are  far  from  me;  they  teach  for  doctrine 
the  commandments  of  men,  having  a  form  of  godli- 
ness, but  they  deny  the  power  thereof  He  again 
forbade  me  to  join  any  of  them  ;  and  many  other 


14  THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM. 

things  did  he  say  unto  me  which  I  cannot  write  at 
this  time.  When  I  came  to  myself  again,  I  found 
myself  lying  on  my  back,  looking  up  into  heaven." 

"From  this  time  until  the  2ist  of  September, 
"  1823,  Joseph  continued,  as  usual,  to  labor  with  his 
"  father,  and  nothing  during  this  interval  occurred  of 
"  very  great  importance, — though  he  suffered,  as  one 
"  would  naturally  suppose,  every  kind  of  opposition 
"  and  persecution  from  the  different  orders  of  relig- 
"  ionists. 

"On  the  evening  of  the  2ist  of  September,  he 
"retired  to  his  bed  in  quite  a  serious  and  contem- 
"  plative  state  of  mind.  He  shortly  betook  himself 
"  to  prayer  and  supplication  to  Almighty  God,  for 
"a  manifestation  of  his  standing  before  Him,  and 
"while  thus  engaged  he  received  the  following 


vision  : " 


"While  I  was  thus  in  the  act  of  calling  upon  God, 
I  discovered  a  light  appearing  in  the  room,  which 
continued  to  increase  until  the  room  was  lighter 
than  at  noon-day,  when  immediately  a  personage 
appeared  at  my  bedside,  standing  in  the  air,  for  his 
feet  did  not  touch  the  floor.  He  had  on  a  loose 
robe  of  most  exquisite  whiteness.  It  was  a  white- 
ness beyond  anything  earthly  I  had  ever  seen,  nor 
do  I  believe  that  any  earthly  thing  could  be  made  to 
appear  so  exceedingly  white  and  brilliant.  His 
hands  were  naked,  and  his  arms  also,  a  little  above 
the  wrist ;  so  also  were  his  feet  naked,  as  were  his 
legs  a  little  above  the  ankles.  His  head  and  neck 
were  also  bare.  I  could  discover  that  he  had  no 
other  clothing  on  but  his  robe,  as  it  was  open  so 
that  I  could  see  into  his  bosom.  Not  only  was  his 
robe  exceedingly  white,  but  his  whole  person  was 
glorious  beyond  description,  and  his  countenance 


THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM.  <  15 

truly  like  lightning.  The  room  was  exceedingly 
light,  but  not  so  very  bright  as  immediately  around 
his  person.  When  I  first  looked  upon  him  I  was 
afraid,  but  the  fear  soon  left  me.  He  called  me  by 
name,  and  said  unto  me  that  he  was  a  messenger 
sent  from  the  presence  of  God  to  me,  and  that  his 
name  was  Moroni;  that  God  had  a  work  for  me  to 
do,  and  that  my  name  should  be  had  for  good  and 
evil  among  all  nations,  kindreds  and  tongues;  or 
that  it  should  be  both  good  and  evil  spoken  of 
among  all  people.  He  said  there  was  a  book  de- 
posited, written  upon  gold  plates,  giving  an  account 
of  the  former  inhabitants  of  this  continent,  and  the 
source  from  whence  they  sprung.  He  also  said  that 
the  fullness  of  the  everlasting  gospel  was  contained 
in  it,  as  delivered  by  the  Saviour  to  the  ancient  in- 
habitants. Also,  that  there  were  two  stones  in  silver 
bows,  and  these  stones,  fastened  to  a  breastplate, 
constituted  what  is  called  the  urim  and  thummim, 
deposited  with  the  plates ;  and  the  possession  and 
use  of  these  stones  were  what  constituted  seers  in 
ancient  or  former  times  ;  and  that  God  had  prepared 
them  for  the  purpose  of  translating  the  book.  After 
telling  me  these  things,  he  commenced  quoting  the 
prophecies  of  the  Old  Testament.  He  first  quoted 
a  part  of  the  third  chapter  of  Malachi ;  and  he  quo- 
ted also  the  fourth  or  last  chapter  of  the  same 
prophecy,  though  with  a  little  variation  from  the 
way  it  reads  in  our  Bible.  Instead  of  quoting  the 
first  verse  as  it  reads  in  our  books,  he  quoted  it 
thus  :  '  For  behold  the  day  cometh  that  shall  burn 
as  an  oven  ;  and  all  the  proud,  yea,  and  all  that  do 
wickedly,  shall  burn  as  stubble,  for  they  that  come 
shall  burn  them,  saith  the  Lord  of  Hosts,  that  it 
shall  leave  them  neither  root  nor  branch/  And 
again  he  quoted  the  fifth  verse  thus :  '  Behold,  I 
will  reveal  unto  you  the  priesthood  by  the  hand  of 
Elijah  the  prophet,  before  the  coming  of  the  great 


l6  THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM. 

and  dreadful  day  of  the  Lord.'  He  also  quoted  the 
next  verse  differently:  'And  he  shall  plant  in  the 
hearts  of  the  children  the  promises  made  to  the 
fathers,  and  the  hearts  of  the  children  shall  turn  to 
their  fathers ;  if  it  were  not  so,  the  whole  earth 
would  be  utterly  wasted  at  its  coming.'  In  addition 
to  these,  he  quoted  the  eleventh  chapter  of  Isaiah, 
saying  that  it  was  about  to  be  fulfilled.  He  quoted 
also  the  third  chapter  of  Acts,  twenty-second  and 
twenty-third  verses,  precisely  as  they  stand  in  our 
New  Testament.  He  said  that  that  prophet  was 
Christ,  but  the  day  had  not  yet  come  'when  they 
who  would  not  hear  His  voice  should  be  cut  off  from 
among  the  people,'  but  soon  would  come.  He  also 
quoted  the  second  chapter  of  Joel,  from  the  twenty- 
eighth  verse  to  the  last.  He  also  said  that  this  was 
not  yet  fulfilled,  but  was  soon  to  be.  And  he  further 
stated  the  fullness  of  the  Gentiles  was  soon  to  come 
in.  He  quoted  many  other  passages  of  scripture, 
and  offered  many  explanations  which  cannot  be 
mentioned  here.  Again,  he  told  me  that  when  I 
got  those  plates  of  which  he  had  spoken  (for 
the  time  that  they  should  be  obtained  was  not  then 
fulfilled),  I  should  not  show  them  to  any  person, 
neither  the  breast-plate,  with  the  urim  and  thum- 
mim,  only  to  those  to  whom  I  should  be  commanded 
to  show  them ;  if  I  did  I  should  be  destroyed. 
While  he  was  conversing  with  me  about  the  plates, 
the  vision  was  opened  to  my  mind  that  I  could  see 
the  place  where  the  plates  were  deposited,  and  that 
so  clearly  and  distinctly  that  I  knew  the  place  again 
when  I  visited  it. 

"  After  this  communication,  I  saw  the  light  in  the 
room  begin  to  gather  immediately  around  the  per- 
son of  him  who  had  been  speaking  to  me,  and  it 
continued  to  do  so  until  the  room  was  again  left 
dark,  except  just  around  him  ;  when  instantly  I  saw, 
as  it  were,  a  conduit  open  right  up  into  Heaven,  and 


THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM.  17 

he  ascended  up  until  he  entirely  disappeared,  and 
the  room  was  left  as  it  had  been  before  this  heavenly 
light  made  its  appearance. 

"  I  lay  musing  on  the  singularity  of  the  scene, 
and  marveling  greatly  at  what  had  been  told  me 
by  this  extraordinary  messenger,  when,  in  the  midst 
of  my  meditation,  I  suddenly  discovered  that  my 
room  was  again  beginning  to  get  lighted,  and,  in  an 
instant,  as  it  were,  the  same  heavenly  messenger 
was  again  by  my  bedside.  He  commenced*,  and 
again  related  the  very  same  things  which  he  had 
done  at  his  first  visit,  without  the  least  variation, 
which  having  done,  he  informed  me  of  great  judg- 
ments which  were  coming  upon  the  earth,  with  great 
desolations  by  famine,  sword,  and  pestilence ;  and 
that  these  grievous  judgments  would  come  on  the 
earth  in  this  generation.  Having  related  these 
things,  he  again  ascended  as  he  had  done  before." 

"  When  the  angel  ascended  the  second  time  he 
"left  Joseph  overwhelmed  with  astonishment,  yet 
"  gave  him  but  a  short  time  to  contemplate  the 
"  things  which  he  had  told  him  before  he  made  his 
"  reappearance  and  rehearsed  the  same  things  over, 
"  adding  a  few  words  of  caution  and  instruction, 
"thus:  That  he  must  beware  of  covetousness,  and 
"  he  must  not  suppose  the  record  was  to  be  brought 
"  forth  with  the  view  of  getting  gain,  for  this  was 
"  not  the  case,  but  that  it  was  to  bring  forth  light 
"  and  intelligence,  which  had  for  a  long  time  been 
"  lost  to  the  world ;  and  that  when  he  went  to  get 
"  the  plates,  he  must  be  on  his  guard,  or  his  mind 
"would  be  filled  with  darkness.  The  angel  then 
"  told  him  to  tell  his  father  all  which  he  had  both 
"  seen  and  heard. 

«#     *     *     *      From  this  time  forth,  Joseph  con- 


1 8  THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM. 

"  tinued  to  receive  instructions  from  the  Lord,  and 
"we  continued  to  get  the  children  together  every 
"  evening,  for  the  purpose  of  listening  while  he  gave 
"  us  a  relation  of  the  same.  I  presume  our  family 
"  presented  an  aspect  as  singular  as  any  that  ever 
"  lived  upon  the  face  of  the  earth — all  seated  in  a 
"  circle,  father,  mother,  sons,  and  daughters,  and 
"giving  the  most  profound  attention  to  a  boy, 
"  eighteen  years  of  age,  who  had  never  read  the 
"  Bible  through  in  his  life.  He  seemed  much  less 
"  inclined  to  the  perusal  of  books  than  any  of  the 
"  rest  of  our  children,  but  far  more  given  to  medi- 
"  tation  and  deep  study. 

"  We  were  now  confirmed  in  the  opinion  that  God 
"was  about  to  bring  to  light  something  upon  which 
"  we  could  stay  our  minds,  or  that  would  give  us  a 
"  more  perfect  knowledge  of  the  plan  of  salvation 
"  and  the  redemption  of  the  human  family.  This 
"  caused  us  greatly  to  rejoice ;  the  sweetest  union 
"  and  happiness  pervaded  our  house,  and  tranquillity 
"  reigned  in  our  midst. 

"  During  our  evening  conversations,  Joseph  would 
"occasionally  give  us  some  of  the  most  amusing 
"  recitals  that  could  be  imagined.  He  would  de- 
"  scribe  the  ancient  inhabitants  of  this  continent, 
'•  their  dress,  mode  of  traveling,  and  the  animals 
"  upon  which  they  rode  ;  their  cities,  their  buildings, 

*  with  every  particular ;  their  mode  of  warfare  ;  and 
'also  their  religious  worship.     This   he  would  do 
J  with  as  much  ease,  seemingly,  as  if  he  had  spent 

*  his  whole  life  with  them." 

Thus  continued  the  divine  and  miraculous  expe- 
rience of  the  prophetic  family  until  the  golden  plates 


THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM.  19 

were  obtained,  the  book  of  Mormon  published,  and 
the  " Church  of  Jesus  Christ  of  Latter-day  Saints" 
was  established  on  the  6th  of  April,  1830. 

But  all  this  shall  be  written  in  the  book  of  the 
prophet! 


CHAPTER  III. 

THE     OPENING     OF      A      SPIRITUAL     DISPENSATION     TO 

AMERICA — WOMAN'S  EXALTATION — THE  LIGHT  OF 

THE    LATTER    DAYS. 

Joseph  Smith  opened  to  America  a  great  spiritual 
dispensation.  It  was  such  the  Mormon  sisterhood 
received. 

A  latter-day  prophet !  A  gospel  of  miracles !  An- 
gels visiting  the  earth  again  !  Pentecosts  in  the 
nineteenth  century  !  This  was  Mormonism. 

These  themes  were  peculiarly  fascinating  to  those 
earnest  apostolic  women  whom  we  shall  introduce 
to  the  reader. 

Ever  must  such  themes  be  potent  with  woman. 
She  has  a  divine  mission  always,  both  to  manifest 
spiritual  gifts  and  to  perpetuate  spiritual  dispensa- 
tions. 

Woman  is  child  of  faith.  Indeed  she  is  faith. 
Man  is  reason.  His  mood  is  skepticism.  Left  alone 
to  his  apostleship,  spiritual  missions  die,  though 
revealed  by  a  cohort  of  archangels.  Men  are  too 
apt  to  lock  again  the  heavens  which  the  angels  have 
opened,  and  convert  priesthood  into  priestcraft.  It 
is  woman  who  is  the  chief  architect  of  a  spiritual 
church. 

Joseph  Smith  was  a  prophet  and  seer  because  his 


THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM.  21 

mother  was  a  prophetess  and  seeress.  Lucy  Smith 
gave  birth  to  the  prophetic  genius  which  has  wrought 
out  its  manifestations  so  marvelously  in  the  age. 
Brigham  Young,  who  is  a  society-builder,  also 
received  his  rare  endowments  from  his  mother. 
Though  differing  from  Joseph,  Brigham  has  a  po- 
tent inspiration. 

Thus  we  trace  the  Mormon  genius  to  these 
mothers.  They  gave  birth  to  the  great  spiritual 
dispensation  which  is  destined  to  incarnate  a  new 
and  universal  Christian  church. 

Until  the  faith  of  Latter-day  Saints  invoked  one, 
there  was  no  Holy  Ghost  in  the  world  such  as  the 
saints  of  former  days  would  have  recognized.  Re- 
spectable divines,  indeed,  had  long  given  out  that 
revelation  was  done  away,  because  no  longer  needed. 
The  canon  of  scripture  was  said  to  be  full.  The 
voice  of  prophesy  was  no  more  to  be  heard  to  the 
end  of  time. 

But  the  Mormon  prophet  invoked  the  Holy 
Ghost  of  the  ancient  Hebrews,  and  burst  the  sealed 
heavens.  The  Holy  Ghost  came,  and  His  apostles 
published  the  news  abroad. 

The  initial  text  of  Mormonism  was  precisely  that 
which  formed  the  basis  of  Peter's  colossal  sermon 
on  the  day  of  Pentecost : 

"  And  it  shall  come  to  pass  in  the  last  days,  saith 
"  God,  I  will  pour  out  my  spirit  upon  all  flesh ;  and 
"your  sons  and  your  daughters  shall  prophesy,  and 
"your  young  men  shall  dream  dreams ; 

"  And  on  my  servants  and  on  my  handmaidens  I 
"  will  pour  out  in  those  days  of  my  spirit ;  and  they 
"shall  prophesy." 


22  THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM. 

Here  was  a  magic  gospel  for  the  age !  And  how 
greatly  was  woman  in  its  divine  programme ! 

No  sooner  was  the  application  made  than  the 
prophesy  was  discovered  to  be  pregnant  with  its 
own  fulfillment.  The  experience  of  the  former-day 
saints  became  the  experience  of  the  "latter-day 
saints."  It  was  claimed,  too,  that  the  supreme  ful- 
fillment was  reserved  for  this  crowning  dispensation. 
These  were  emphatically  the  "last  days."  It  was 
in  the  "last  days"  that  God  would  pour  out  His 
spirit  upon  "all  flesh."  The  manifestation  of  Pen- 
tecost was  but  the  foreshadowing  of  the  power  of 
God,  to  be  universally  displayed  to  his  glory,  and 
the  regeneration  of  the  nations  in  the  "  dispensation 
of  the  fullness  of  times." 

This  gospel  of  a  new  dispensation  came  to  America 
by  the  administration  of  angels.  But  let  it  not  be 
thought  that  Joseph  Smith  alone  saw  angels.  Mul- 
titudes received  angelic  administrations  in  the  early 
days  of  the  Church  ;  thousands  spoke  in  tongues 
and  prophesied ;  and  visions,  dreams  and  miracles 
were  daily  manifestations  among  the  disciples. 

The  sisters  were  quite  as  familiar  with  angelic 
visitors  as  the  apostles.  They  were  in  fact  the  best 
"mediums"  of  this  spiritual  work.  They  were  the 
"  cloud  of  witnesses."  Their  Pentecosts  of  spiritual 
gifts  were  of  frequent  occurrence. 

The  sisters  were  also  apostolic  in  a  priestly  sense. 
They  partook  of  the  priesthood  equally  with  the 
men.  They  too  "  held  the  keys  of  the  administra- 
tion of  angels."  Who  can  doubt  it,  when  faith  is 
the  greatest  of  all  keys  to  unlock  the  gates  of  heaven  ? 
But  "  the  Church  "  herself  acknowledged  woman's 


THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM.  23 

key.  There  was  no  Mormon  St.  Peter  in  this  new 
dispensation  to  arrogate  supremacy  over  woman,  on 
his  solitary  pontifical  throne.  The  "  Order  of  Ce- 
lestial Marriage,"  not  of  celestial  celibacy,  was  about 
to  be  revealed  to  the  Church. 

Woman  also  soon  became  high  priestess  and  pro- 
phetess. She  was  this  officially.  The  constitution 
of  the  Church  acknowledged  her  divine  mission 
to  administer  for  the  regeneration  of  the  race. 
The  genius  of  a  patriarchal  priesthood  naturally 
made  her  the  apostolic  help-meet  for  man.  If  you 
saw  her  not  in  the  pulpit  teaching  the  congregation, 
yet  was  she  to  be  found  in  the  temple,  administering 
for  the  living  and  the  dead !  Even  in  the  holy  of 
holies  she  was  met.  As  a  high  priestess  she  blessed 
with  the  laying  on  of  hands  !  As  a  prophetess  she 
oracled  in  holy  places !  As  an  endowment  giver 
she  was  a  Mason,  of  the  Hebraic  order,  whose  Grand 
Master  is  the  God  of  Israel  and  whose  anointer  is 
the  Holy  Ghost. 

She  held  the  keys  of  the  administration  of  angels 
and  of  the  working  of  miracles  and  of  the  "  seal- 
ings  "  pertaining  to  "  the  heavens  and  the  earth." 
Never  before  was  woman  so  much  as  she  is  in  this 
Mormon  dispensation  ! 

The  supreme  spiritual  character  of  the  "  Church 
of  Jesus  Christ  of  Latter-day  Saints  "  (its  proper 
name),  is  well  typed  in  the  hymn  so  often  sung  by 
the  saints  at  their  "  testimony  meetings,"  and  some- 
times in  their  temples.  Here  is  its  theme: 

"  The  spirit  of  God  like  a  fire  is  burning, 

The  latter-day  glory  begins  to  c^me  forth, 
The  visions  and  blessings  of  old  are  returning, 
The  angels  are  coming  to  visit  the  earth. 


24  THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM. 

Chorus — We'll  sing  and  we'll  shout  with  the  armies  of  heaven — 

Hosanna,  hosanna  to  God  and  the  Lamb  ! 
Let  glory  to  them  in  the  highest  be  given, 
Henceforth  and  forever — amen  and  amen. 

The  Lord  is  extending  the  saints'  understanding, 

Restoring  their  judges  and  all  as  at  first; 
The  knowledge  and  power  of  God  are  expanding ; 

The  vail  o'er  the  earth  is  beginning  to  burst. 

Chorus — We'll  sing  and  we'll  shout  with  the  armies  of  heaven !"  etc. 

What  a  strange  theme  this,  forty-seven  years  ago, 
before  the  age  of  our  modern  spiritual  mediums, 
when  the  angels  visited  only  the  Latter-day  Saints! 
In  that  day  it  would  seem  the  angels  only  dared  to 
come  by  stealth,  so  unpopular  was  their  coming. 
But  the  way  was  opened  for  the  angels.  What 
wonder  that  they  have  since  come  in  hosts  good 
and  bad,  and  made  their  advent  popular  ?  Millions 
testify  to  their  advent  now;  and  "modern  spiritual- 
ism," though  of  "another  source,"  is  a  proof  of 
Mormonism  more  astonishing  than  prophecy  her- 
self. 

Yet  is  all  this  not  more  remarkable  than  the 
promise  which  Joseph  Smith  made  to  the  world 
in  proclaiming  his  mission.  It  was  the  identical 
promise  of  Christ :  "  These  signs  shall  follow  them 
that  believe  !"  These  signs  meant  nothing  short  of 
all  that  extraordinary  experience  familiar  to  the 
Hebrew  people  and  the  early-day  saints.  We  have 
no  record  that  ever  this  sweeping  promise  was  made 
before  by  any  one  but  Jesus  Christ.  Yet  Joseph 
Smith,  filled  with  a  divine  assurance,  dared  to 
re-affirm  it  and  apply  the  promise  to-  all  nations 
wherever  the  gospel  of  his  mission  should  be 
preached.  The  most  wonderful  of  tests  is  this. 


THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM.  25 

But  the  test  was  fulfilled.  The  signs  followed  all, 
and  everywhere.  Even  apostates  witness  to  this 
much. 

Tl^ere  is  nothing  in  modern  spiritualism  nearly 
so  marvelous  as  was  Mormonism  in  its  rise  and 
progress  in  America  and  Great  Britain.  It  has 
indeed  made  stir  enough  in  the  world.  But  it  had 
to  break  the  way  for  coming  ages.  Revelation  was 
at  first  a  very  new  and  strange  theme  after  the  more 
than  Egyptian  darkness  in  which  the  Christian  na- 
tions had  been  for  fifty  generations.  It  was  the  light 
set  upon  the  hill  now ;  but  the  darkness  compre- 
hended it  not.  Yet  was  a  spiritual  dispensation 
opened  again  to  the  world.  Once  more  was  the 
lost  key  found.  Mormonism  was  the  key  ;  and1  it 
was  Joseph  and  his  God-fearing  disciples  who  un- 
locked the  heavens.  That  fact  the  world  will 
acknowledge  in  the  coming  times.  < 


CHAPTER  IV. 

BIRTH     OF    THE    CHURCH KIRTLAND    AS    THE    BRIDE, 

IN     THE     CHAMBERS     OF     THE     WILDERNESS THE 

EARLY      GATHERING "  MOTHER      WHITNEY,"      AND 

ELIZA    R.    SNOW. 

The  birth-place  of  Mormonism  was  in  the  State 
of  New  York.  There  the  angels  first  administered 
to  the  youthful  prophet ;  there  in  the  "  Hill  Cumo- 
rah,"  near  the  village  of  Palmyra,  the  plates  of  the 
book  of  Mormon  were  revealed  by  Moroni ;  there, 
at  Manchester,  on  the  6th  of  April,  1830,  the 
"Church  of  Jesus  Christ  of  Latter-day  Saints" 
was  organized,  with  six  members. 

But  the  divine  romance  of  the  sisterhood  best 
opens  at  Kirtland.  It  is  the  place  where  this  Isra- 
elitish  drama  of  our  times  commenced  its  first 
distinguishing  scenes, — the  place  where  the  first 
Mormon  temple  was  built. 

Ohio  was  the  "  Great  West."  Kirtland,  the  city 
of  the  saints,  with  its  temple,  dedicated  to  the  God 
of  Israel,  rose  in  Ohio. 

Not,  however,  as  the  New  Jerusalem  of  America, 
was  Kirtland  founded ;  but  pioneer  families,  from 


THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM.  27 

New  England,  had  settled  in  Ohio,  who  early  re- 
ceived the  gospel  of  the  Latter-day  Church. 

Thus  Kirtland  became  an  adopted  Zion,  selected 
by  revelation  as  a  gathering  place  for  the  saints ; 
and  a  little  village  grew  into  a  city,  with  a  temple. 
Among  these  pioneers  were  the  families  of 
"  Mother  Whitney,'1  and  Eliza  R.  Snow,  and  the 
families  of  "Father  Morley,"  and  Edward  Partridge, 
who  became  the  "  first  Bishop  "  of  Zion. 

Besides  these,  there  were  a  host  of  men  and 
women  soon  numbered  among  the  founders  of  Mor- 
mondom,  who  were  also  pioneers  in  Ohio,  Missouri, 
and  Illinois. 

There  is  no  feature  of  the  Mormons  more  inter- 
esting than  their  distinguishing  mark  as  pioneers. 
In  this  both  their  Church  and  family  history  have  a 
national  significance. 

Trace  their  family  migrations  from  old  England 
to  New  England  in  the  seventeenth  century  ;  from 
Europe  to  America  in  the  nineteenth  ;  then  follow 
them  as  a  people  in  their  empire-track  from  the 
State  of  New  York,  where  their  Church  was  born, 
to  Utah  and  California  !  It  will  thus  be  remarkably 
illustrated  that  they  and  their  parents  have  been 
pioneering  not  only  America  but  the  worl.d  itself  to 
the  "  Great  West "  for  the  last  two  hundred  and 
fifty  years  ! 

As  a  community  the  Mormons  have  been  em- 
phatically the  Church  of  pioneers.  The  sisters 
have  been  this  equally  with  the  brethren.  Their 
very  religion  is  endowed  with  the  genius  of  migra- 
ting peoples. 

So  in  1830-31,  almost  as  soon  as  the  Church  was 


28  THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM. 

organized,  the  prophet  and  the  priesthood  followed 
the  disciples  to  the  West,  where  the  star  of  Messiah 
was  rising. 

As  though  the  bride  had  been  preparing  for  the 
coming!  As  though,  womanlike,  intuitively,  she 
had  gone  into  the  wilderness — the  chambers  of  a 
new  civilization — to  await  the  bridegroom. 

For  the  time  being  Kirtland  became  the  Zion  of 
the  West ;  for  the  time  being  Kirtland  among  cities 
was  the  bride. 

But  the  illustration  is  also  personal.  Woman 
herself  had  gone  to  the  West  where  the  star  of  Mes- 
siah was  looming.  Daughters  of  the  New  Jerusalem 
were  already  in  the  chamber  awaiting  the  bride- 
groom. 

Early  in  the  century,  two  had  pioneered  into  the 
State  of  Ohio,  who  have  since  been,  for  a  good  life- 
time, high  priestesses  of  the  Mormon  temples. 
And  the  voice  of  prophesy  has  declared  that  these 
have  the  sacred  blood  of  Israel  in  their  veins.  In 
the  divine  mysticism  of  their  order  they  are  at  once 
of  a  kingly  and  priestly  line. 

There  is  a  rare  consistency  in  the  mysticism  of 
the  Mormon  Church.  The  daughters  of  the  tem- 
ple are  so  by  right  of  blood  and  inheritance  They 
are  discovered  by  gift  of  revelation  in  Him  who  is 
the  voice  of  the  Church ;  but  they  inherit  from  the 
fathers  and  mothers  of  the  temple  of  the  Old  Jeru- 
salem. 

And  so  these  two  of  the  principal  heroines  of  Mor- 
mondom — "  Mother  WThitney"  and  "  Sister  Eliza 
R.  Snow"-— introduced  first  as  the  two  earliest  of 
the  Church  who  pioneered  to  the  "  Great  WTest," 


THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM.  29 

before  the  advent  of  their  prophet,  as  well  as  intro- 
duced for  the  divine  part  which  they  have  played 
in  the  marvelous  history  of  their  people. 

These  are  high  priestesses  !  These  are  two  rare 
prophetesses  !  These  have  the  gifts  of  revelation 
and  "  tongues  !"  These  administer  in  "  holy  places" 
for  the  living  and  the  dead. 

It  was  about  the  year  of  our  Lord  1806  that 
Oliver  Snow,  a  native  of  Massachusetts,  and  his 
wife,  R.  L.  Pettibone  Snow,  of  Connecticut,  moved 
with  their  children  to  that  section  of  the  State  of 
Ohio  bordering  on  Lake  Erie  on  the  north  and  the 
State  of  Pennsylvania  on  the  east,  known  then  as 
the  "  Connecticut  Western  Reserve."  They  pur- 
chased land  and  settled  in  Mantua,  Portage  county. 

Eliza  R.  Snow,  who  was  the  second  of  seven 
children,  four  daughters  and  three  sons,  one  of  whom 
is  the  accomplished  apostle  Lorenzo  Snow,  was  born 
in  Becket,  Berkshire  county,  Mass.,  January  2ist, 
1804.  Her  parents  were  of  English  descent;  their 
ancestors  were  among  the  earliest  settlers  of  New 
England. 

Although  a  farmer  by  occupation,  Oliver  Snow 
performed  much  public  business,  officiating  in  several 
responsible  positions.  His  daughter  Eliza,  being 
ten  years  the  senior  of  her  eldest  brother,  so  soon 
as  she  was  competent,  was  employed  as  secretary 
in  her  father's  office. 

She  was  skilled  in  various  kinds  of  needlework 
and  home  manufactures.  Two  years  in  succession 
she  drew  the  prize  awarded  by  the  committee  on 
manufactures,  at  the  county  fair,  for  the  best  manu- 
factured leghorn. 


3<D  THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM. 

When  quite  young  she   commenced  writing  for 
publication  in  various  journals,  which  she  continued 
to  do  for  several  years,  over  assumed  signatures  — 
wishing  to  be  useful  as  a  writer,  and  yet  unknown 
except  by  intimate  friends. 

"  During  the  contest  between  Greece  and  Tur- 
"  key,"  she  says,  "  I  watched  with  deep  interest  the 
"  events  of  the  war,  and  after  the  terrible  destruc- 
"  tion  of  Missolonghi,  by  the  Turks,  I  wrote  an 
" article  entitled  'The  Fall  of  Missolonghi.'  Soon 
"  after  its  publication,  the  deaths  of  Adams  and  Jef- 
•'  ferson  occurred  on  the  same  memorable  fourth  of 
"  July,  and  I  was  requested  through  the  press,  to 
"  write  their  requiem,  to  which  I  responded,  and 
"  found  myself  ushered  into  conspicuity.  Subse- 
"  quently  I  was  awarded  eight  volumes  of  *  Godey's 
"  Lady's  Book,'  for  a  first  prize  poem  published  in 
"  one  of  the  journals." 

The  classical  reader  will  remember  how  the  strug- 
gle between  Greece  and  Turkey  stirred  the  soul  of 
Byron.  That  immortal  poet  was  not  a  saint  but  he 
was  a  great  patriot  and  fled  to  the  help  of  Greece. 

Precisely  the  same  chord  that  was  struck  in  the 
chivalrous  mind  of  Lord  Byron  was  struck  in  the 
Hebraic  soul  of  Eliza  R.  Snow.  It  was  the  chord 
of  the  heroic  and  the  antique. 

Our  Hebraic  heroine  is  even  more  sensitive  to 
the  heroic  and  patriotic  than  to  the  poetic, — at  least 
she  has  most  self-gratification  in  lofty  and  patriotic 
themes. 

"  That  men  are  born  poets,"  she  continues,  "  is  a 
"  common  adage.  /  was  born  a  patriot, — at  least  a 
"  warm  feeling  of  patriotism  inspired  my  childish 


THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM.  3! 

"  heart,  and  mingled  in  my  earliest  thoughts,  as 
"  evinced  in  many  of  the  earliest  productions  of  my 
"  pen.  I  can  even  now  recollect  how,  with  beating 
"  pulse  and  strong  emotion  I  listened,  when  but  a 
"  small  child,  to  the  tales  of  the  revolution. 

"  My  grandfather  on  my  mother's  side,  when  fight- 
"  ing  for  the  freedom  of  our  country,  was  taken 
"  prisoner  by  British  troops,  and  confined  in  a  dreary 
"  cell,  and  so  scantily  fed  that  when  his  fellow-prisoner 
"  by  his  side  died  from  exhaustion,  he  reported  him 
"  to  the  jailor  as  sick  in  bed,  in  order  to  obtain  the 
"  amount  of  food  for  both, — keeping  him  covered  in 
"  their  blankets  as  long  as  he  dared  to  remain  with 
"  a  decaying  body. 

"  This,  with  many  similar  narratives  of  revolu- 
"  tionary  sufferings  recounted  by  my  grand-parents, 
"  so  deeply  impressed  my  mind,  that  as  I  grew  up 
"  to  womanhood  I  fondly  cherished  a  pride  for  the 
"  flag  which  so  proudly  waved  over  the  graves  of 
"  my  brave  and  valiant  ancestors." 

It  was  the  poet's  soul  of  this  illustrious  Mormon 
woman  that  first  enchanted  the  Church  with  inspired 
song,  and  her  Hebraic  faith  and  life  have  given 
something  of  their  peculiar  tone  to  the  entire  Mor- 
mon people,  and  especially  the  sisterhood  ;  just  as 
Joseph  Smith  and  Brigham  Young  gave  the  types 
and  institutions  to  our  modern  Israel. 

Sister  Eliza  R.  Snow  was  born  with  more  than 
the  poet's  soul.  She  was  a  prophetess  in  her  very 
nature, — endowed  thus  by  her  Creator,  before  her 
birth.  Her  gifts  are  of  race  quality  rather  than  of 
mere  religious  training  or  growth.  They  have  come 
down  to  her  from  the  ages.  From  her  personal  race 


32  THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM. 

indications,  as  well  as  from  the  whole  tenor  and 
mission  of  her  life,  she  would  readily  be  pronounced 
to  be  of  Hebrew  origin.  One  might  very  well  fancy 
her  to  be  a  descendant  of  David  himself;  indeed 
the  Prophet  Joseph,  in  blessing  her,  pronounced  her 
to  be  a  daughter  of  Judah's  royal  house.  She  un- 
derstands, nearly  to  perfection,  all  of  the  inner  views 
of  the  system  and  faith  which  she  represents.  And 
the  celestial  relations  and  action  of  the  great  Mor- 
mon drama,  in  other  worlds,  and  in  the  "  eternities 
past  and  to  come,"  have  constituted  her  most  familiar 
studies  and  been  in  the  rehearsals  of  her  daily  min- 
istry. 

Mother  Whitney  says  : 

"  I  was  born  the  day  after  Christmas  in  the  first 
year  of  the  present  century,  in  the  quiet,  old-fash- 
ioned country  town  of  Derby,  New  Haven  County, 
Conn.  My  parents'  names  were  Gibson  and  Polly 
Smith.  The  Smiths  were  among  the  earliest  set- 
tlers there,  and  were  widely  known.  I  was  the 
oldest  child,  and  grew  up  in  an  atmosphere  of  love 
and  tenderness  My  parents  were  not  professors 
of  religion,  and  according  to  puritanical  ideas  were 
grossly  in  fault  to  have  me  taught  dancing  ;  but  my 
father  had  his  own  peculiar  notions  upon  the  sub- 
ject, and  wished  me  to  possess  and  enjoy,  in  connec- 
tion with  a  sound  education  and  strict  morals,  such 
accomplishments  as  would  fit  me  to  fill,  with  credit 
to  myself  and  my  training,  an  honorable  position  in 
society.  He  had  no  sympathy  whatever  with  any 
of  the  priests  of  that  day,  and  was  utterly  at  variance 
with  their  teachings  and  ministry,  notwithstanding 
he  was  strenuous  on  all  points  of  honor,  honesty 
morality  and  uprightness. 

"  There  is  nothing  in  my  early  life  I  remember 


THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM.  33 

with  more  intense  satisfaction  than  the  agreeable 
companionship  of  my  father.  My  mother's  health 
was  delicate,  and  with  her  household  affairs,  and 
two  younger  children,  she  gave  herself  up  to  domes- 
tic life,  allowing  it  to  absorb  her  entire  interest,  and 
consequently  I  was  more  particularly  under  my 
father's  jurisdiction  and  influence ;  our  tastes  were 
most  congenial,  and  this  geniality  and  happiness 
surrounded  me  with  its  beneficial  influence  until  I 
reached  my  nineteenth  year.  Nothing  in  particular 
occurred  to  mar  the  smoothness  of  my  life's  current 
and  prosperity,  and  love  beamed  upon  our  home. 

"  About  this  time  a  new  epoch  in  my  life  created 
a  turning  point  which  unconsciously  to  us,  who  were 
the  actors  in  the  drama,  caused  all  my  future  to  be 
entirely  separate  and  distinct  from  those  with  whom 
I  had  been  reared  and  nurtured.  My  father's  sister, 
a  spinster,  who  had  money  at  her  own  disposal,  and 
who  was  one  of  those  strong-minded  women  of 
whom  so  much  is  said  in  this  our  day,  concluded  to 
emigrate  to  the  great  West, — at  that  time  Ohio 
seemed  a  fabulous  distance  from  civilization  and  en- 
lightenment, and  going  to  Ohio  then  was  as  great 
an  undertaking  as  going  to  China  or  Japan  is  at  the 
present  day.  She  entreated  my  parents  to  allow  me 
to  accompany  her,  and  promised  to  be  as  faithful 
and  devoted  to  me  as  possible,  until  they  should  join 
us,  and  that  they  expected  very  shortly  to  do  ;  their 
confidence  in  aunt  Sarah's  ability  and  self-reliance 
was  unbounded,  and  so,  after  much  persuasion,  they 
consented  to  part  with  me  for  a  short  interval  of 
time ;  but  circumstances,  over  which  we  mortals 
have  no  control,  were  so  overruled  that  I  never  saw 
my  beloved  mother  again.  Our  journey  was  a  pleas- 
ant one ;  the  beautiful  scenery  through  which  our 
route  lay  had  charms  indescribable  for  me,  who  had 
never  been  farther  from  home  than  New  Haven,  in 
which  city  I  had  passed  a  part  of  my  time,  and  to 


34  THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM. 

me  it  was  nearer  a  paradise  than  any  other  place  on 
earth.  The  magnificent  lakes,  rivers,  mountains,  and 
romantic  forests  were  all  delineations  of  nature 
which  delighted  my  imagination. 

"  We  settled  a  few  miles  inland  from  the  pic- 
turesque Lake  Erie,  and  here  in  after  years,  were 
the  saints  of  God  gathered  and  the  everlasting  gos- 

Eel  proclaimed.  My  beloved  aunt  Sarah  was  a  true 
•iend  and  instructor  to  me,  and  had  much  influence 
in  maturing  my  womanly  character  and  developing 
my  home  education.  She  hated  the  priests  of  the 
day,  and  believed  them  all  deceivers  and  hypocrites  ; 
her  religion  consisted  in  visiting  the  widow  and  the 
fatherless  and  keeping  herself  '  unspotted  from  the 
world.' 

"  Shortly  after  entering  my  twenty-first  year  I 
became  acquainted  with  a  young  man  from  Ver- 
mont, Newel  K.  Whitney,  who,  like  myself,  had  left 
home  and  relatives  and  was  determined  to  carve  out 
a  fortune  for  himself.  He  had  been  engaged  in 
trading  with  the  settlers  and  Indians  at  Green  Bay, 
Mich.,  buying  furs  extensively  for  the  eastern  mar- 
kets. In  his  travels  to  and  from  New  York  he 
passed  along  the  charming  Lake  Erie,  and  from 
some  unknown  influence  he  concluded  to  settle  and 
make  a  permanent  home  for  himself  in  this  region 
of  country  ;  and  then  subsequently  we  met  and  be- 
came acquainted ;  and  being  thoroughly  convinced 
that  we  were  suited  to  each  other,  we  were  married 
by  the  Presbyterian  minister  of  that  place,  the  Rev. 
J.  Badger.  We  prospered  in  all  our  efforts  to  accu- 
mulate wealth,  so  much  so,  that  among  our  friends 
it  came  to  be  remarked  that  nothing  of  Whitney's 
ever  got  lost  on  the  lake,  and  no  product  of  his  ex- 
portation was  ever  low  in  the  market ;  always  ready 
sales  and  fair  prices.  We  had  neither  of  us  ever 
made  any  profession  of  religion,  but  contrary  to  my 
early  education  I  was  naturally  religious,  and  I 


THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM.  35 

expressed  to  my  husband  a  wish  that  we  should 
unite  ourselves  to  one  of  the  churches,  after  exam- 
ining into  their  principles  and  deciding  for  ourselves. 
Accordingly  we  united  ourselves  with  the  Campbell- 
ites,  who  were  then  making  many  converts,  and 
whose  principles  seemed  most  in  accordance  with 
the  scriptures.  We  continued  in  this  church,  which 
to  us  was  the  nearest  pattern  to  our  Saviour's  teach- 
ings, until  Parley  P.  Pratt  and  another  elder  preached 
the  everlasting  gospel  in  Kirtland." 


CHAPTER  V. 


THE    VOICE,  AND    THE  MESSENGER   OF    THE   COVENANT. 

And  there  came  one  as  a  "  voice  crying  in  the 
wilderness,  prepare  ye  the  way  of  the  Lord  !" 

Thus  ever ! 

A  coming  to  Israel  with  "  a  new  and  everlasting 
covenant ;"  this  was  the  theme  of  the  ancient  pro- 
phets, now  unfolded. 

There  was  the  voice  crying  in  the  wilderness  of 
Ohio,  just  before  the  advent  of  the  latter-day  pro- 
phet. 

The  voice  was  Sidney  Rigdon.  He  was  to  Joseph 
Smith  as  a  John  the  Baptist. 

The  forerunner  made  straight  the  way  in  the  wil- 
derness of  the  virgin  West.  He  raised  up  a  church 
of  disciples  in  and  around  Kirtland.  He  led  those 
who  afterwards  became  latter-day  saints  to  faith  in 
the  promises,  and  baptized  them  in  water  for  the 
remission  of  sins.  But  he  had  not  power  to  baptize 
them  with  the  Holy  Ghost  and  with  fire  from  heaven. 
Yet  he  taught  the  literal  fulfillment  of  the  prophe- 
sies concerning  the  last  days,  and  heralded  the  ad- 
vent of  the  "  one  greater  than  I." 

"The  same  is  he  which  baptizeth  with  the  Holy 
Ghost." 


THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM.  37 

That  is  ever  the  "  one  greater  than  I,"  be  his  name 
whatever  it  may. 

Joseph  Smith  baptized  with  the  Holy  Ghost.  But 
Sidney  knew  not  that  he  was  heralding  Joseph. 

And  the  prophet  himself  was  but  as  the  voice 
crying  in  the  wilderness  of  the  great  dark  world : 
"  Prepare  ye  the  way  for  the  second  advent  of  earth's 
Lord."  His  mission  was  also  to  "  make  straight  in 
the  desert  a  highway"  for  the  God  of  Israel  ;  for 
Israel  was  going  up, — following  the  angel  of  the 
covenant,  to  the  chambers  of  the  mountains. 

He  tfame  with  a  great  lamp  and  a  great  light  in 
those  days,  dazzling  to  the  eyes  of  the  generation 
that  "  crucified  "  him  in  its  blindness. 

Joseph  was  the  sign  of  Messiah's  coming.  He 
unlocked  the  sealed  heavens  by  faith  and  "  election." 
He  came  in  "  the  spirit  and  power  of  Elijah."  The 
mantle  of  Elijah  was  upon  him. 

Be  it  always  understood  that  the  coming  of  Jo- 
seph Smith  "to  restore  the  covenant  to  Israel" 
signifies  the  near  advent  of  Messiah  to  reign  as 
King  of  Israel.  Joseph  was  the  Elijah  of  the  last 
days. 

These  are  the  first  principles  of  Mormonism.  And 
to  witness  of  their  truth  this  testament  of  the  sisters 
is  given,  with  the  signs  and  wonders  proceeding 
from  the  mission  of  Him  who  unlocked  the  heavens 
and  preached  the  gospel  of  new  revelations  to  the 
world,  whose  light  of  revelation  had  gone  out. 

But  first  came  the  famous  Alexander  Campbell 
and  his  compeer,  Sidney  Rigdon,  to  the  West  with 
the  "  lamp."  Seekers  after  truth,  whose  hearts  had, 
been  strangely  moved  by  some  potent  spirit,  whose 


38  THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM. 

influence  they  felt  pervading  but  understood  not, 
saw  the  lamp  and  admired. 

Mr.  Campbell,  of  Virginia,  was  a  reformed  Bap- 
tist. He  with  Sidney  Rigdon,  a  Mr.  Walter  Scott, 
and  some  other  gifted  men,  had  dissented  from  the 
regular  Baptists,  from  whom  they  differed  much  in 
doctrine.  They  preached  baptism  for  the  remission 
of  sins,  promised  the  gift  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  and 
believed  in  the  literal  fulfillment  of  prophesy.  They 
also  had  some  of  the  apostolic  forms  of  organization 
in  their  church. 

In  Ohio  they  raised  up  branches.  In  Kirtland 
and  the  regions  round,  they  made  many  disciples, 
who  bore  the  style  of  "  disciples,"  though  the  pop- 
ular sect-name  was  "  Campbellites."  Among  them 
were  Eliza  R.  Snow,  Elizabeth  Apn  Whitney,  and 
many  more,  who  afterwards  embraced  the  "  fullness 
of  the  everlasting  gospel  "  as  restored  by  the  angels 
to  the  Mormon  prophet. 

But  these  evangels  of  a  John  the  Baptist  mission 
brought  not  to  the  West  the  light  of  new  revela- 
tion in  their  lamp. 

These  had  not  yet  even  heard  of  the  opening  of 
a  new  dispensation  of  revelations.  As  they  came 
by  the  way  they  had  seen  no  angels  with  new  com- 
missions for  the  Messiah  age.  No  Moses  nor  Elijah 
had  been  with  them  on  a  mount  of  transfiguration. 
Nor  had  they  entered  into  the  chamber  with  the 
angel  of  the  covenant,  bringing  a  renewal  of  the 
covenant  to  Israel.  This  was  in  the  mission  of  the 
"  one  greater  "  than  they  who  came  after. 

They  brought  the  lamp  without  the  light — noth- 
ing more.  Better  the  light  without  the  evangelical 


THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM.  39 

lamp — better  a  conscientious  intellect  than  the 
forms  of  sectarian  godliness  without  the  power. 

Without  the  power  to  unlock  the  heavens,  and 
the  Elijah  faith  to  call  the  angels  down,  there  could 
be  no  new  dispensation — no  millennial  civilization 
for  the  world,  to  crown  the  civilization  of  the  ages. 

Light  came  to  Sidney  Rigdon  from  the  Mormon 
Elijah,  and  he  comprehended  the  light  ;  but  Alex- 
ander Campbell  rejected  the  prophet  when  his 
message  came ;  he  would  have  none  of  his  angels. 
He  had  been  preaching  the  literal  fulfillment  of 
prophesy,  but  when  the  covenant  was  revealed  he 
was  not  ready.  The  lamp,  not  the  light,  was  his 
admiration.  Himself  was  the  lamp  ;  Joseph  had  the 
light  from  the  spirit  world,  and  the  darkness  com- 
prehended it  not. 

Alexander  Campbell  was  a  learned  and  an  able 
man — the  very  form  of  wisdom,  but  without  the 
spirit. 

Joseph  Smith  was  an  unlettered  youth.  He  came 
not  in  the  polished  form  of  wisdom — either  divine 
or  human — but  in  the  demonstration  of  the  Holy 
Ghost,  and  with  signs  following  the  believer. 

Mr.  Campbell  would  receive  no  new  revelation 
from  such  an  one — no  everlasting  covenant  from  the 
new  Jerusalem  which  was  waiting  to  come. down,  to 
establish  on  earth  a  great  spiritual  empire,  that  the 
King  might  appear  to  Zion  in  his  glory,  with  all  his 
angels  and  the  ancients  of  days. 

The  tattered  and  blood-stained  commissions  of 
old  Rome  were  sufficient  for  the  polished  divine, — 
Rome  which  had  made  all  nations  drunk  with  her 
spiritual  fornications, — Rome  which  put  to  death 


4-O  THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM. 

the  Son  of  God  when  his  Israel  in  blindness  rejected 
him. 

Between  Rome  and  Jerusalem  there  was  now  the 
great  controversy  of  the  God  of  Israel.  Not  the 
old  Jerusalem  which  had  traveled  from  the  east  to 
the  west,  led  by  the  angel  of  the  covenant,  up  out 
of  the  land  of  Egypt !  The  new  Jerusalem  to  the 
earth  then,  as  she  is  to-day  !  Ever  will  she  be  the 
new  Jerusalem — ever  will  "  old  things"  be  passing 
away  when  "  the  Lord  cometh  ! " 

And  the  angel  of  the  west  appeared  by  night  to 
the  youth,  as  he  watched  in  the  chamber  of  his 
father's  house,  in  a  little  village  in  the  State  of  New 
York.  On  that  charmed  night  when  the  invisibles 
hovered  about  the  earth  the  angel  that  stood  before 
him  read  to  the  messenger  of  Messiah  the  mystic 
text  of  his  mission  : 

"  Behold,  I  will  send  my  messenger,  and  he  shall 
"prepare  the  way  before  me;  and  the  Lord,  whom  ye 
"  seek,  shall  suddenly  come  to  his  temple,  even  the  mes- 
"  senger  of  the  covenant,  whom  ye  delight  in;  behold 
"  he  shall  come,  saith  the  Lord  of  Hosts? 


CHAPTER  VI. 


AN    ANGEL    FROM    THE    CLOUD    IS    HEARD  IN   KIRTLAND 
THE    "  DAUGHTER    OF    THE    VOICE." 


Now  there  dwelt  in  Kirtland  in  those  days  disci- 
ples who  feared  the  Lord. 

And  they  "  spake  often  one  to  another ;  and  the 
Lord  hearkened  and  heard  it,  and  a  book  of  remem- 
brance was  written  before  him  for  them  that  feared 
the  Lord,  and  that  thought  upon  his  name." 

"  We  had  been  praying,"  says  mother  Whitney, 
"  to  know  from  the  Lord  how  we  could  obtain  the 
"  gift  of  the  Holy  Ghost." 

"  My  husband,  Newel  K.  Whitney,  and  myself, 
"  were  Campbellites.  We  had  been  baptized  for  the 
"  remission  of  our  sins,  and  believed  in  the  laying 
"  on  of  hands  and  the  gifts  of  the  spirit.  But  there 
"was  no  one  with  authority  to  confer  the  Holy 
"  Ghost  upon  us.  We  were  seeking  to  know  how 
"  to  obtain  the  spirit  and  the  gifts  bestowed  upon 
"  the  ancient  saints. 

"  Sister  Eliza  Snow  was  also  a  Campbellite.  We 
"  were  acquainted  before  the  restoration  of  the  gos- 
"  pel  to  the  earth.  She,  like  myself,  was  seeking  for 
"  the  fullness  of  the  gospel.  She  lived  at  the  time 
"  in  Mantua. 

"  One   night — it  was   midnight — as   my  husband 


42  THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM. 

"and  I,  in  our  house  at  Kirtland,  were  praying  to 
"  the  father  to  be  shown  the  way,  the  spirit  rested 
"  upon  us  and  a  cloud  overshadowed  the  house. 

"It  was  as  though  we  were  out  of  doors.  The 
"  house  passed  away  from  our  vision.  We  were  not 
"  conscious  of  anything  but  the  presence  of  the  spirit 
"  and  the  cloud  that  was  over  us. 

"  We  were  wrapped  in  the  cloud.  A  solemn  awe 
"  pervaded  us.  We  saw  the  cloud  and  we  felt  the 
"  spirit  of  the  Lord. 

"  Then  we  heard  a  voice  out  of  the  cloud  saying : 

" '  Prepare  to  receive  the  word  of  the  Lord,  for  it 
"  '  is  coming  P 

"  At  this  we  marveled  greatly  ;  but  from  that  mo- 
"  ment  we  knew  that  the  word  of  the  Lord  was 
"  coming  to  Kirtland." 

Now  this  is  an  Hebraic  sign,  well  known  to  Israel 
after  the  glory  of  Israel  had  departed.  It  was  called 
by  the  sacred  people  who  inherited  the  covenant 
"  the  daughter  of  the  voice." 

Blindness  had  happened  to  Israel.  The  prophets 
and  the  seers  the  Lord  had  covered,  but  the  "daugh- 
ter of  the  voice  "  was  still  left  to  Israel.  From  time 
to  time  a  few,  with  the  magic  blood  of  the  prophets 
in  them,  heard  the  voice  speaking  to  them  out  of 
the  cloud. 

Down  through  the  ages  the  "  daughter  of  the 
voice"  followed  the  children  of  Israel  in  their  dis- 
persions. Down  through  the  ages,  from  time  to 
time,  some  of  the  children  of  the  sacred  seed  have 
heard  the  voice.  This  is  the  tradition  of  the  sons 
and  daughters  of  Judah. 

It  was  the  "  daughter  of  the  voice  "  that  Mother 


THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM.  43 

Whitney  and  her  husband  heard,  at  midnight,  in 
Kirtland,  speaking  to  them  out  of  the  cloud.  Mother 
Whitney  and  her  husband  were  of  the  seed  of  Israel 
(so  run  their  patriarchal  blessings) ;  it  was  their  gift 
and  privilege  to  hear  the  "  voice." 

He  was  coming  now,  whose  right  it  is  to  reign. 
The  throne  of  David  was  about  to  be  re-set  up  and 
given  to  the  lion  of  the  tribe  of  Judah.  The  ever- 
lasting King  of  the  new  Jerusalem  was  coming 
down,  with  the  tens  of  thousands  of  his  saints. 

The  star  of  Messiah  was  traveling  from  the  east 
to  the  west  The  prophet — the  messenger  of  Mes- 
siah's covenant — was  about  to  remove  farther  west- 
ward, towards  the  place  where  his  Lord  in  due  time 
will  commence  his  reign,  which  shall  extend  over  all 
the  earth. 

This  was  the  meaning  of  that  vision  of  the 
"  cloud "  in  Kirtland,  at  midnight,  overshadowing 
the  house  of  Newel  K.  Whitney  ;  this  the  signifi- 
cance of  the  "  voice  "  which  spoke  out  of  the  cloud, 
saying :  "  Prepare  to  receive  the  word  of  the  Lord, 
for  it  is  coming  !" 

The  Lord  of  Hosts  was  about  to  make  up  his 
jewels  for  the  crown  of  his  appearing ;  and  there 
were  many  of  those  jewels  already  in  the  West. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

AN    ISRAEL    PREPARED    BY    VISIONS,    DREAMS    AND    AN- 
GELS  INTERESTING    AND     MIRACULOUS     STORY    OF 

PARLEY  P.  PRATT A    MYSTIC    SIGN   OF    MESSIAH   IN 

THE    HEAVENS THE    ANGELAS    WORDS    FULFILLED. 

The  divine  narrative  leads  directly  into  the  per- 
sonal story  of  Parley  P.  Pratt.  He  it  was  who  first 
brought  the  Mormon  mission  west.  He  it  was  who 
presented  the  Book  of  Mormon  to  Sidney  Rigdon, 
and  converted  him  to  the  new  covenant  which  Je- 
hovah was  making  with  a  latter-day  Israel. 

Parley  P.  Pratt  was  one  of  the  earliest  of  the  new 
apostles.  By  nature  he  was  both  poet  and  prophet. 
The  soul  of  prophesy  was  born  in  him.  In  his  life- 
time he  was  the  Mormon  Isaiah.  All  his  writings 
were  Hebraic.  He  may  have  been  of  Jewish  blood. 
He  certainly  possessed  the  Jewish  genius,  of  the 
prophet  order. 

It  would  seem  that  the  spirit  of  this  great  latter- 
day  work  could  not  throw  its  divine  charms  around 
the  youthful  prophet,  who  had  been  raised  up  to 
open  a  crowning  spiritual  dispensation,  without  pe- 
culiarly affecting  the  spiritual  minded  everywhere 
— both  men  and  women. 

It  is  one  of  the  remarkable  facts  connected  with 
the  rise  of  Mormonism  in  the  age  that,  at  about  the 


THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM.  45 

time  Joseph  Smith  was  receiving  the  administration 
of  angels,  thousands  both  in  America  and  Great 
Britain  were  favored  with  corresponding  visions  and 
intuitions.  Hence,  indeed,  its  success,  which  was 
quite  as  astonishing  as  the  spiritual  work  of  the 
early  Christians. 

One  of  the  first  manifestations  was  that  of  earnest 
gospel-seekers  having  visions  of  the  elders  before 
they  came,  and  recognizing  them  when  they  did 
come  bearing  the  tidings.  Many  of  the  sisters,  as 
well  as  the  brethren,  can  bear  witness  of  this. 

This  very  peculiar  experience  gave  special  signifi- 
cance to  one  of  the  earliest  hymns,  sung  by  the 
saints,  of  the  angel  who  "came  down  from  the  man- 
sions of  glory  "  with  "  the  fullness  of  Jesus's  gospel," 
and  also  the  "  covenant  to  gather  his  people,"  the 
refrain  of  which  was, 

"  O !  Israel !  O  !  Israel !  in  all  your  abidings, 
Prepare  for  your  Lord,  when  you  hear  these  glad  tidings." 

An  Israel  had  been  prepared  in  all  their  "abid- 
ings," by  visions  and  signs,  like  sister  Whitney,  who 
heard  the  voice  of  the  angel,  from  the  cloud,  bidding 
her  prepare  for  the  coming  word  of  the  Lord. 
Parley  P.  Pratt  was  the  elder  who  fulfilled  her 
vision,  and  brought  the  word  of  the  Lord  direct 
from  Joseph  to  Kirtland. 

And  Parley  himself  was  one  of  an  Israel  who  had 
been  thus  mysteriously  prepared  for  the  great  latter- 
day  mission,  of  which  he  became  so  marked  an 
apostle. 

Before  he  reached  the  age  of  manhood,  Parley 
had  in  his  native  State  (N.  Y.)  met  with  reverses 


46  THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM. 

in  fortune  so  serious  as  to  change  the  purposes  of 
his  life. 

"  I  resolved,"  he  says,  "to  bid  farewell  to  the  civ- 
"  ilized  world,  where  I  had  met  with  little  else  but 
"  disappointment,  sorrow  and  unrewarded  toil ;  and 
"where  sectarian  divisions  disgusted,  and  ignorance 
"  perplexed  me, — and  to  spend  the  remainder  of  my 
"  days  in  the  solitudes  of  the  great  West,  among  the 
"  natives  of  the  forest." 

In  October,  1826,  he  took  leave  of  his  friends  and 
started  westward,  coming  at  length  to  a  small  set- 
tlement about  thirty  miles  west  of  Cleveland,  in  the 
State  of  Ohio.  The  country  was  covered  with  a 
dense  forest,  with  only  here  and  there  a  small 
opening  made  by  the  settlers,  and  the  surface  of  the 
earth  was  one  vast  scene  of  mud  and  mire. 

Alone,  in  a  land  of  strangers,  without  home  or 
money,  and  not  yet  twenty  years  of  age,  he  became 
somewhat  discouraged,  but  concluded  to  stop  for 
the  winter. 

In  the  spring  he  resolved  to  return  to  his  native 
State,  for  there  was  one  at  home  whom  his  heart 
had  long  loved  and  from  whom  he  would  not  have 
been  separated,  except  by  misfortune. 

But  with  her,  as  his  wife,  he  returned  to  Ohio, 
the  following  year,  and  made  a  home  on  the  lands 
which  he  cleared  with  his  own  hands.* 

Eighteen  months  thereafter  Sidney  Rigdon  came 
into  the  neighborhood,  as  a  preacher.  With  this 
reformer  Parley  associated  himself  in  the  ministry, 
and  organized  a  society  of  disciples. 

*  She  died  in  the  early  persecution  of  the  church,  and  when  Parley  was  in 
prison  for  the  gospel's  sake  her  spirit  visited  and  comforted  him. 


THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM.  47 

But  Parley  was  not  satisfied  with  even  the  ancient 
gospel  form  without  the  power. 

At  the  commencement  of  1830,  the  very  time  the 
Mormon  Church  was  organized,  he  felt  drawn  out  in 
an  extraordinary  manner  to  search  the  prophets, 
and  to  pray  for  an  understanding  of  the  same.  His 
prayers  were  soon  answered,  even  beyond  his  expec- 
tations. The  prophesies  were  opened  to  his  view. 
He  began  to  understand  the  things  which  were 
about  to  transpire.  The  restoration  of  Israel,  the 
coming  of  Messiah,  and  the  glory  that  should  follow. 

Being  now  "  moved  upon  by  the  Holy  Ghost"  to 
travel  about  preaching  the  gospel  "without  purse 
or  scrip,"  in  August,  1830,  he  closed  his  worldly 
business  and  bid  adieu  to  his  wilderness  home,  which 
he  never  saw  afterwards. 

"  Arriving  at  Rochester,"  he  says,  "  I  informed  my 
"wife  that,  notwithstanding  our  passage  being  paid 
"  through  the  whole  distance,  yet  I  must  leave  the 
"  boat  and  her  to  pursue  her  passage  to  her  friends, 
"while  I  would  stop  awhile  in  this  region.  Why,  I 
"  did  not  know ;  but  so  it  was  plainly  manifest  by 
"  the  spirit  to  me. 

"  I  said  to  her,  we  part  for  a  season  ;  go  and  visit 
"  our  friends  in  our  native  place  ;  I  will  come  soon, 
"but  how  soon  I  know  not ;  for  I  have  a  work  to  do 
"  in  this  region  of  country,  and  what  it  is,  or  how 
"  long  it  will  take  to  perform  it,  I  know  not ;  but  I 
"will  come  when  it  is  performed. 

"  My  wife  would  have  objected  to  this,  but  she  had 
"seen  the  hand  of  God  so  plainly  manifest  in  his 
"dealings  with  me  many  times,  that  she  dared  not 
"  oppose  the  things  manifested  to  me  by  his  spirit. 


48  THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM. 

"  She,  therefore,  consented  ;  and  I  accompanied  her 
"as  far  as  Newark,  a  small  town  upwards  of  one 
"  hundred  miles  from  Buffalo,  and  then  took  leave 
"  of  her,  and  of  the  boat. 

"  It  was  early  in  the  morning,  just  at  the  dawn  of 
"day;  I  walked  ten  miles  into  the  country,  and 
"  stopped  to  breakfast  with  a  Mr.  Wells.  I  pro- 
"  posed  to  preach  in  the  evening.  Mr.  Wells  readily 
"  accompanied  me  through  the  neighborhood  to  visit 
"  the  people,  and  circulate  the  appointment. 

"  We  visited  an  old  Baptist  deacon,  by  the  name 
"of  Hamlin.  After  hearing  of  our  appointment  for 
"  the  evening,  he  began  to  tell  of  a  book,  a  strange 
"book,  a  very  strange  book,  in  his  possession,  which 
"had  been  just  published.  This  book,  he  said,  pur- 
ported to  have  been  originally  written  on  plates, 
"  either  of  gold  or  brass,  by  a  branch  of  the  tribes 
"  of  Israel  ;  and  to  have  been  discovered  and  trans- 
"  lated  by  a  young  man  near  Palmyra,  in  the  State 
"  of  New  York,  by  the  aid  of  visions,  or  the  ministry 
"  of  angels. 

"  I  inquired  of  him  how  or  where  the  book  was  to 
"  be  obtained.  He  promised  me  the  perusal  of  it, 
"  at  his  house  the  next  day,  if  I  would  call.  I  felt 
"  a  strange  interest  in  the  book. 

"  Next  morning  I  called  at  his  house,  where  for 
"  the  first  time  my  eyes  beheld  the  Book  of  Mor- 
"mon, — that  book  of  books — that  record  which 
"  reveals  the  antiquities  of  the  '  new  world '  back  to 
"  the  remotest  ages,  and  which  unfolds  the  destiny 
"  of  its  people  and  the  world,  for  all  time  to  come." 

As  he  read,  the  spirit  of  the  Lord  was  upon  him, 
and  he  knew  and  comprehended  that  the  book  was 


THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM.  49 

true ;  whereupon  he  resolved  to  visit  the  young 
man  who  was  the  instrument  in  bringing  forth  this 
"  marvelous  work." 

Accordingly  he  visited  the  village  of  Palmyra, 
and  inquired  for  the  residence  of  Mr.  Joseph  Smith, 
which  he  found  some  two  or  three  miles  from  the 
village.  As  he  approached  the  house,  at  the  close 
of  the  day,  he  overtook  a  man  driving  some  cows, 
and  inquired  of  him  for  "  Mr.  Joseph  Smith,  the 
translator  of  the  Book  of  Mormon."  This  man  was 
none  other  than  Hyrum,  Joseph's  brother,  who  in- 
formed him  that  Joseph  then  resided  in  Pennsyl- 
vania, some  one  hundred  miles  distant.  That  night 
Parley  was  entertained  by  Hyrum,  who  explained  to 
him  much  of  the  great  Israelitish  mission  just  open- 
ing to  the  world. 

In  the  morning  he  was  compelled  to  take  leave 
of  Hyrum,  the  brother,  who  at  parting  presented 
him  with  a  copy  of  the  Book  of  Mormon.  He  had 
not  then  completed  its  perusal,  and  so  after  travel- 
ing on  a  few  miles  he  stopped  to  rest  and  again 
commenced  to  read  the  book.  To  his  great  joy  he 
found  that  Jesus  Christ,  in  his  glorified  resurrected 
body,  had  appeared  to  the  "remnant  of  Joseph" 
on  the  continent  of  America,  soon  after  his  resur- 
rection and  ascension  into  heaven  ;  and  that  he  also 
administered,  in  person,  to  the  ten  lost  tribes;  and 
that  through  his  personal  ministry  in  these  coun- 
tries his  gospel  was  revealed  and  written  in  countries 
and  among  nations  entirely  unknown  to  the  Jewish 
apostles. 

Having    rested  awhile    and   perused   the    sacred 
book  by  the  roadside,  he  again  walked  on. 

4 


5<D  THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM. 

After  fulfilling  his  appointments,  he  resolved  to 
preach  no  more  until  he  had  duly  received  a  "  com- 
mission from  on  high."  So  he  returned  to  Hyrum, 
who  journeyed  with  him  some  twenty-five  miles  to 
the  residence  of  Mr.  Whitmer,  in  Seneca  County, 
who  was  one  of  the  "  witnesses  "  of  the  Book  of  Mor- 
mon, and  in  whose  chamber  much  of  the  book  was 
translated. 

He  found  the  little  branch  of  the  church  in  that 
place  "  full  of  joy,  faith,  humility  and  chanty." 

They  rested  that  night,  and  on  the  next  day  (the 
ist  of  September,  1830),  Parley  was  baptized  by 
Oliver  Cowdery,  who,  with  the  prophet  Joseph,  had 
been  ordained  "  under  the  hands  "  of  the  angel  John 
the  Baptist  to  this  ministry, — the  same  John  who 
baptized  Jesus  Christ  in  the  River  Jordan. 

A  meeting  of  these  primitive  saints  was  held  the 
same  evening,  when  Parley  was  confirmed  with  the 
gift  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  and  ordained  an  elder  of 
the  church. 

Feeling  now  that  he  had  the  true  authority  to 
preach,  he  commenced  his  new  ministry  under  the 
authority  and  power  which  the  angels  had  conferred. 
"  The  Holy  Ghost,"  he  says,  "  came  upon  me 
"  mightily.  I  spoke  the  word  of  God  with  power, 
"reasoning  out  of  the  scriptures  and  the  Book 
"of  Mormon.  The  people  were  convinced,  over- 
"  whelmed  with  tears,  and  came  forward  expressing 
"  their  faith,  and  were  baptized." 

The  mysterious  object  for  which  he  took  leave  of 
his  wife  was  realized,  and  so  he  pursued  his  journey 
to  the  land  of  his  fathers,  and  of  his  boyhood. 
He  now  commenced  his  labors  in  good  earnest, 


THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM  51 

daily  addressing  crowded  audiences ;  and  soon  he 
baptized  his  brother  Orson,  a  youth  of  nineteen, 
but  to-day  a  venerable  apostle — the  Paul  of  Mor- 
mondom. 

It  was  during  his  labors  in  these  parts,  in  the 
Autumn  of  1830,  that  he  saw  a  very  singular  and 
extraordinary  sign  in  the  heavens. 

He  had  been  on  a  visit  to  the  people  called  Sha- 
kers, at  New  Lebanon,  and  was  returning  on  foot, 
on  a  beautiful  evening  of  September.     The  sky  was 
without  a  cloud  ;  the  stars  shone  out  beautifully,  and 
all  nature  seemed  reposing  in  quiet,  as  he  pursued 
his  solitary  way,  wrapt  in  deep  meditations  on  the 
predictions  of  the  holy  prophets ;  the  signs  of  the 
times  ;  the  approaching  advent  of  the  Messiah  to 
reign  on  the  earth,  and  the  important  revelations  of 
the    Book   of    Mormon,    when    his   attention   was 
aroused  by  a  sudden  appearance  of  a  brilliant  light 
which  shone  around  him  "above  the  brightness  of 
the  sun."     He  cast  his  eyes  upwards  to  inquire  from 
whence  the  light  came,  when  he  perceived  a  long 
chain  of  light  extending  in  the  heavens,  very  bright 
and  of  a  deep  fiery  red.     It  at  first  stood  stationary 
in  a  horizontal  position  ;  at  length  bending  in  the 
centre,  the  two  ends  approached  each  other  with  a 
rapid  movement  so  as  to  form  an  exact  square.     In 
this  position  it  again  remained  stationary  for  some 
time,  perhaps   a  minute,  and  then  again   the  ends 
approached  each  other  with  the  same  rapidity,  and 
again    ceased    to    move,   remaining   stationary,  for 
perhaps  a  minute,   in   the  form  of  a  compass.     It 
then    commenced  a   third   movement  in  the  same 
I     manner,  and  closed  like  the  closing  of  a  compass, 


52  THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM. 

the  whole  forming  a  straight  line  like  a  chain  dou- 
bled. It  again  remained  stationary  a  minute,  and 
then  faded  away. 

"  I  fell  upon  my  knees  in  the  street,"  he  says,  "  and 
"  thanked  the  Lord  for  so  marvelous  a  sign  of  the 
"  coming  of  the  Son  of  Man.  Some  persons  may 
"  smile  at  this,  and  say  that  all  these  exact  move- 
"  ments  were  by  chance ;  but  for  my  part  I  could  as 
"soon  believe  that  the  alphahet  would  be  formed  by 
"  chance  and  be  placed  so  as  to  spell  my  name,  as  to 
"believe  that  these  signs  (known  only  to  the  wise) 
"  could  be  formed  and  shown  forth  by  chance.'' 

Parley  now  made  his  second  visit  to  the  prophet, 
who  had  returned  from  Pennsylvania  to  his  father's 
residence  in  Manchester,  near  Palmyra,  and  here 
had  the  pleasure  of  seeing  him  for  the  first  time. 

It  was  now  October,  1830.  A  revelation  had 
been  given  through  the  mouth  of  the  prophet  in 
which  elders  Oliver  Cowdery,  Peter  Whitmer,  Tiber 
Peterson  and  Parley  P.  Pratt  were  appointed  to  go 
into  the  wilderness  through  the  Western  States, 
and  to  the  Indian  Territory. 

These  elders  journeyed  until  they  came  to  the 
spiritual  pastorate  of  Sydney  Rigdon,  in  Ohio.  He 
received  the  elders  cordially,  and  Parley  presented 
his  former  friend  and  instructor  with  the  Book  of 
Mormon,  and  related  to  him  the  history  of  the  same. 

"The  news  of  our  coming,"  says  Parley,  "was 
"  soon  noised  abroad,  and  the  news  of  the  discovery 
"of  the  Book  of  Mormon  and  the  marvelous  events 
"connected  with  it.  The  interest  and  excitement 
"  now  became  general  in  Kirtland,  and  in  all  the 
"  region  round  about.  The  people  thronged  us 


THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM.  53 

"  night  and  day,  insomuch  that  we  had  no  time  for 
"rest  or  retirement.  Meetings  were  convened  in 
"  different  neighborhoods,  and  multitudes  came  to- 
"  gether  soliciting  our  attendance  ;  while  thousands 
"  flocked  about  us  daily,  some  to  be  taught,  some 
"  for  curiosity,  some  to  obey  the  gospel,  and  some 
"  to  dispute  or  resist  it. 

"  In  two  or  three  weeks  from  our  arrival  in  the 
"  neighborhood  with  the  news,  we  had  baptized  one 
"  hundred  and  twenty-seven  souls  ;  and  this  number 
"soon  increased  to  one  thousand.  The  disciples 
"were  filled  with  joy  and  gladness;  while  rage  and 
"  lying  was  abundantly  manifested  by  gainsayers. 
"  Faith  was  strong,  joy  was  great,  and  persecution 
"  heavy. 

"We  proceeded  to  ordain  Sidney  Rigdon,  Isaac 
"  Morley,  John  Murdock,  Lyman  Wight,  Edward 
"  Partridge,  and  many  others  to  the  ministry ;  and 
"  leaving  them  to  take  care  of  the  churches,  and  to 
"  minister  the  gospel,  we  took  leave  of  the  saints, 
"and  continued  our  journey." 

Thus  was  fulfilled  the  vision  of  "  Mother  Whit- 
ney." Kirtland  had  heard  the  "word  of  the  Lord." 
The  angel  that  spoke  from  the  cloud,  at  midnight, 
in  Kirtland,  was  endowed  with  the  gift  of  prophesy. 
The  "daughter  of  the  voice"  which  followed  Israel 
down  through  the  ages  was  potent  still — was  still 
an  oracle  to  the  children  of  the  covenant. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

WAR  OF   THE   INVISIBLE    POWERS THEIR   MASTER — • 

JEHOVAH'S  MEDIUM. 

"  You  have  prayed  me  here  !     Now  what  do  you 
want  of  me  ?" 

The  Master  had  come  ! 

But  who  was  he  ? 

Whence  came  he  ? 

Good  or  evil  ? 

Whose  prayers  had  been  answered  ? 


There  was  in  Kirtland  a  controversy  between  the 
powers  of  good  and  evil,  for  the  mastery.  Powers 
good  and  evil  it  would  seem  to  an  ordinary  discern- 
ment. Certainly  powers  representing  two  sources. 

This  was  the  prime  manifestation  of  the  new  dis- 
pensation. This  contention  of  the  invisibles  for  a 
foothold  among  mortals. 

A  Mormon  iliad !  for  such  it  is!  It  is  the  epic 
of  two  worlds,  in  which  the  invisibles,  with  mortals, 
take  their  respective  parts. 

And  now  it  is  the  dispensation  of  the  fullness  of 
times !  Now  all  the  powers  visible  and  invisible 
contend  for  the  mastery  of  the  earth  in  the  stupen- 


THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM.  55 

dous  drama  of  the  last  days.     This  is  what  Mor- 
monism  means. 

It  is  a  war  of  the  powers  above  and  below  to 
decide  who  shall  give  the  next  civilization  to  earth ; 
which  power  shall  incarnate  that  supreme  civiliza- 
tion with  its  spirit  and  genius. 

S'n  ilar  how  exactly  this  has  been  repeated  since 
Moses  and  the  magicians  of  Egypt,  and  Daniel  and 
the  magicians  of  Babylon,  contended. 

One  had  risen  up  in  the  august  name  of  Jehovah. 
Mormonism  represents  the  powers  invisible  of  the 
Hebrew  God. 

Shall  Jehovah  reign  in  the  coming  time  ?  Shall 
he  be  the  Lord  God  omnipotent?  This,  in  its  en- 
tirety, is  the  Mormon  problem. 

Joseph  is  the  prophet  of  that  stupendous  ques- 
tion, to  be  decided  in  this  grand  controversy  of  the 
two  worlds — this  controversy  of  mortals  and  im- 
mortals ! 

There  are  lords  many  and  gods  many,  but  to  the 
prophet  and  his  people  there  is  but  one  God — Je- 
hovah is  his  name. 

A  Mormon  iliad,  nothing  else ;  and  a  war  of  the 
invisibles — a  war  of  spiritual  empires. 

That  war  was  once  in  Kirtland,  when  the  first 
temple  of  a  new  civilization  rose,  to  proclaim  the 
supreme  name  of  the  God  of  Israel. 

No  sooner  had  the  Church  of  Latter-day  Saints 
been  established  in  the  West  than  remarkable 
spiritual  manifestations  appeared.  This  was  exactly 
in  accordance  with  the  faith  and  expectations  of  the 
disciples ;  for  the  promise  to  them  was  that  these 
signs  should  follow  the  believer. 


56  THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM. 

But  there  was  a  power  that  the  saints  could  not 
understand.  That  it  was  a  power  from  the  invisible 
world  all  readily  discerned. 

An  influence  both  strange  and  potent  !  The 
power  which  was  not  comprehended  was  greater, 
for  the  time,  in  its  manifestations,  than  the  spirit 
which  the  disciples  better  understood. 

These  spiritual  manifestations  occurred  remarka- 
bly at  the  house  of  Elder  Whitney,  where  the  saints 
met  often  to  speak  one  to  the  other,  and  to  pray 
for  the  power. 

The  power  had  come  ! 

It  was  in  the  house  which  had  been  overshadowed 
by  the  magic  cloud  at  midnight,  out  of  which  the 
angel  had  prophesied  of  the  coming  of  the  word  of 
the  Lord. 

The  Lord  had  come  ! 

His  word  was  given.  But  which  Lord  ?  and 
whose  word  ?  That  was  the  question  in  that  hour 
of  spiritual  controversy. 

Similar  manifestations  were  also  had  in  other 
branches  of  the  church  ;  and  they  were  given  at 
those  meetings  called  "  testimony  meetings."  .  At 
these  the  saints  testified  one  to  the  other  of  the 
"  great  work  of  God  in  the  last  days,"  and  magni- 
fied the  gifts  of  the  spirit.  But  there  were  two 
kinds  of  gifts  and  two  kinds  of  spirits. 

Some  of  these  manifestations  were  very  similar 
to  those  of  "  modern  spiritualism."  Especially  was 
this  the  case  with  what  are  styled  physical  manifes- 
tations. 

Others  read  revelations  from  their  hands  ;  holding 
them  up  as  a  book  before  them.  From  this  book 


THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM.  57 

they   read  passages   of   new  scriptures.     Books   of 
new  revelations  had  been  unsealed. 

In  letters  of  light  and  letters  o.  gold,  writing 
appeared  to  their  vision,  on  the  hands  of  these 
"mediums." 

What  was  singular  and  confounding  to  the  elders 
was  that  many,  who  could  neither  read  nor  write, 
while  under  "  the  influence,"  uttered  beautiful  lan- 
guage extemporaneously.  At  this  these  "  mediums  " 
of  the  Mormon  Church  (twenty  years  before  our 
"  modern  mediums "  were  known),  would  exclaim 
concerning  the  "  power  of  God  "  manifested  through 
them  ;  challenging  the  elders,  after  the  spirit  had 
gone  out  of  them,  with  their  own  natural  inability 
to  utter  such  wonderful  sayings,  and  do  such  mar- 
velous things. 

As  might  be  expected  the  majority  of  these  "  me- 
*£urns  "  were  among  the  sisters.  In  modern  spiritual 
parlance,  they  were  more  "inspirational."  Indeed 
for  the  manifestation  of  both  powers  the  sisters  have 
always  been  the  "  best  mediums"  (adopting  the  de- 
scriptive epithet  now  so  popular  and  suggestive). 

And  this  manifestation  of  the  "two  powers  "  in  the 
church  followed  the  preaching  of  the  Mormon  gos- 
pel all  over  the  world,  especially  in  America  and 
Great  Britain.  It  was  God's  spell  and  the  spell  of 
some  other  spiritual  genius. 

Where  the  one  power  was  most  manifested,  there 
it  was  always  found  that  the  power  from  the  "  other 
source  "  was  about  equally  displayed. 

So  abounding  and  counterbalancing  were  these 
two  powers  in  nearly  all  the  branches  of  the  church 
in  the  early  rise  of  Mormonism,  in  America  and 


58  THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM. 

Great  Britain,  that  spiritual  manifestations  became 
regarded  very  generally  as  fire  that  could  burn  as 
well  as  bless  and  build  up  the  work  of  God. 

An  early  hymn  of  the  dispensation  told  that  "  the 
great  prince  of  darkness  was  mustering  his  forces ;" 
that  a  battle  was  coming  "  between  the  two  king- 
doms ;"  that  the  armies  were  "  gathering  round,"  and 
that  they  would  "  soon  in  close  battle  be  found." 

To  this  is  to  be  attributed  the  decline  of  spiritual 
gifts  in  a  later  period  in  the  Mormon  Church,  for 
the  "spirits"  were  poured  out  so  abundantly  that  the 
saints  began  to  fear  visions,  and  angels,  and  pro- 
phesy, and  the  "speaking  in  tongues." 

Thus  the  sisters,  who  ever  are  the  "  best  medi- 
ums "  of  spiritual  gifts  in  the  church,  have,  in  latter 
years,  been  shorn  of  their  glory.  But  the  gifts  still 
remain  with  them  ;  and  the  prophesy  is  that  some 
day,  when  there  is  sufficient  wisdom  combined  with 
faith,  more  than  the  primitive  power  will  be  dis- 
played, and  the  angels  will  daily  walk  and  talk  with 
the  people  of  God. 

But  in  Kirtland  in  that  day  there  was  the  contro- 
versy of  the  invisibles. 


It  was  in  the  beginning  of  the  year  1831  that  a 
sleigh  drove  into  the  little  town  of  Kirtland.  There 
were  in  it  a  man  and  his  wife  with  her  girl,  and  a 
man  servant  driving. 

They  seemed  to  be  travelers,  and  to  have  come  a 
long  distance  rather  than  from  a  neighboring  vil- 
lage ;  indeed  they  had  come  from  another  State  ; 
hundreds  of  miles  from  home  now;  far  away  in 


THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM.  59 

those  days  for  a  man  to  be  thus  traveling  in  mid- 
winter with  his  wife. 

But  they  were  not  emigrants ;  at  least  seemingly 
not  such  ;  certainly  not  emigrants  of  an  ordinary 
kind. 

No  caravan  followed  in  their  wake  with  merchan- 
dise for  the  western  market,  nor  a  train  of  goods 
and  servants  to  make  a  home  in  a  neighboring  State. 

A  solitary  sleigh  ;  a  man  with  his  wife  and  two 
servants ;  a  solitary  sleigh,  and  far  from  home. 

That  they  were  not  fugitives  was  apparent  in  the 
manly  boldness  of  the  chief  personage  and  the 
somewhat  imperial  presence  of  the  woman  by  his 
side.  This  personal  air  of  confidence,  and  a  certain 
conscious  importance,  were  quite  marked  in  both, 
especially  in  the  man. 

They  were  two  decided  personages  come  West. 
Some  event  was  in  their  coming.  This  much  the 
observer  might  at  once  have  concluded. 

There  was  thus  something  of  mystery  about  the 
solitary  sleigh  and  its  occupants. 

A  chariot  with  a  destiny  in  it — a  very  primitive 
chariot  of  peace,  but  a  chariot  with  a  charm  about 
it.  The  driver  might  have  felt  akin  to  the  boatman 
who  embarked  with  the  imperial  Roman :  "  Fear 
not — Caesar  is  in  thy  boat !" 

The  sleigh  wended  its  course  through  the  streets 
of  Kirtland  until  it  came  to  the  store  of  Messrs. 
Gilbert  &  Whitney,  merchants.  There  it  stopped. 

Leaping  from  the  primitive  vehicle  the  personage 
shook  himself  lightly,  as  'a  young  lion  rising  from 
his  restful  attitude ;  for  the  man  possessed  a  royal 
strength  and  a  magnificent  physique.  In  age  he 


6O  THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM. 

was  scarcely  more  than  twenty-five  ;  young,  but  with 
the  stamp  of  one  born  to  command 

Leaving  his  wife  in  the  sleigh,  he  walked,  with  a 
royal  bearing  and  a  wonderfully  firm  step,  straight 
into  the  store  of  Gilbert  &  Whitney.  His  bearing 
could  not  be  other.  He  planted  his  foot  as  one  who 
never  turned  back — as  one  destined  to  make  a  mark 
in  the  great  world  at  his  every  footfall.  He  had 
come  to  Kirtland  as  though  to  possess  it. 

Going  up  to  the  counter  where  stood  the  mer- 
chant Whitney,  he  tapped  him  with  hearty  affection 
on  the  shoulder  as  he  would  have  done  to  a  long 
separated  brother  or  a  companion  of  by-gone  years. 
There  was  the  magnetism  of  love  in  his  very  touch. 
Love  was  the  wondrous  charm  that  the  man  carried 
about  hir.., 

"  Well,  Brother  Whitney,  how  do  you  do  ?"  was 
his  greeting. 

"  You  have  the  advantage  of  me,"  replied  Whit- 
ney, wondering  who  his  visitor  could  be.  "  I  could 
not  call  you  by  name." 

"  I  am  Joseph,  the  prophet !" 

It  was  like  one  of  old  making  himself  known  to 
his  brethren — "  I  am  Joseph,  your  brother  !" 

"Well,  what  do  you  want  of  me?"  Joseph  asked 
with  a  smile  ;  and  then  with  grave  solicitude  added  : 

"  You  have  prayed  me  here,  now  what  do  you 
want  of  me  ?  The  Lord  would  not  let  me  sleep  at 
nights ;  but  said,  up  and  take  your  wife  to  Kirt- 
land!" 

An  archangel's  coming  would  not  have  been  a 
greater  event  to  the  saints  than  the  coming  of 
Joseph  the  prophet. 


THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM.  6l 

Leaving  his  store  and  running  across  the  road  to 
his  house,  Elder  Whitney  exclaimed  : 

"  Who  do  you  think  was  in  that  sleigh  at  the 
store  ?  " 

'•  Well,  I  don't  know,"  replied  Sister  Whitney. 

"  Why,  it  is  Joseph  and  his  wife.  Where  shall  we 
put  them  ?  " 

Then  came  to  the  mind  of  Sister  Whitney  the 
vision  of  the  cloud  that  had  overshadowed  her 
house  at  midnight,  and  the  words  of  the  angel  who 
had  spoken  from  the  pavilion  of  his  hidden  glory. 
The  vision  had  now  to  them  a  meaning  and  fulfill- 
ment indeed.  The  sister  and  her  husband  who  had 
heard  the  "  voice  "  felt  that  "  the  word  of  the  Lord  " 
was  to  be  given  to  Kirtland  in  their  own  dwelling 
and  under  the  very  roof  thus  hallowed. 

One-half  of  the  house  was  immediately  set  apart 
for  the  prophet  and  his  wife.  The  sleigh  drove  up 
to  the  door  and  Joseph  entered  with  Emma — the 
"  elect  lady  "  of  the  church — and  they  took  up  their 
home  in  the  little  city  which,  with  his  presence,  was 
now  Zion. 

It  was  the  controversy  of  these  two  powers  in 
the  churches  in  the  West  which  had  called  Joseph 
to  Kirtland  in  the  opening  of  the  year  1831.  The 
church  in  the  State  of  New  York — its  birthplace- 
had  been  commanded  by  revelation  to  move  West, 
but  Joseph  hastened  ahead  with  his  wife,  as  we  have 
seen. 

He  had  been  troubled  at  nights  in  his  visions. 
He  had  seen  Elder  Whitney  and  his  wife  and  the 
good  saints  praying  for  his  help.  This  is  how  he 
had  known  "  Brother  Whitney"  at  sight ;  for  Joseph 


62  THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM. 

on  such  occasions  saw  all  things  before  him  as  by  a 
map  unfolded  to  his  view. 

"  Up  and  take  your  wife  to  Kirtland,"  "  the  Lord" 
had  commanded.  And  he  had  come.  The  church, 
from  the  State  of  New  York,  followed  him  the  en- 
suing May. 

The  master  spirit  was  in  Kirtland  now.  All 
spirits  were  subject  to  him.  That  was  one  ruling 
feature  of  his  apostleship.  He  held  the  keys  of  the 
dispensation.  He  commanded  and  the  very  invisi- 
bles obeyed.  They  also  recognized  the  master  spirit. 
He  was  only  subject  to  the  God  of  Israel. 

"  Peace,  be  still ! "  the  master  commanded,  and  the 
troubled  waters  of  Kirtland  were  at  peace. 

There  in  the  chamber  which  Sister  Whitney  conse- 
crated to  the  prophet  the  great  revelation  was  given 
concerning  the  tests  of  spirits.  There  also  many  of 
the  revelations  were  given,  some  of  which  form  part 
of  the  book  of  doctrine  and  covenants.  The  cham- 
ber was  thereafter  called  the  translating  room. 

Perchance  the  mystic  cloud  often  overshadowed 
that  house,  but  the  angel  of  the  new  covenant  could 
now  enter  and  speak  face  to  face  with  mortal  ;  for 
Jehovah's  prophet  dwelt  there.  To  him  the  heavens 
unveiled,  and  the  archangels  of  celestial  spheres  ap- 
peared in  their  glory  and  administered  to  him. 

Wonderful,  indeed,  if  this  be  true,  of  which  there 
is  a  cloud  of  witnesses  ;  and  more  wonderful  still  if 
hosts  of  angels,  good  and  bad,  have  come  to  earth 
since  that  day,  converting  millions  to  an  age  of  rev- 
elation, unless  one  like  unto  Joseph  has  indeed 
unlocked  the  new  dispensation  with  an  Elijah's  keys 
of  power ! 


CHAPTER  IX. 

ELIZA   R.  SNOW'S   EXPERIENCE GLIMPSES  OF  THE  LIFE 

AND    CHARACTER    OF    JOSEPH     SMITH GATHERING 

OF    THE    SAINTS. 

"In  the  autumn  of  1829,"  says  Eliza  R.  Snow, 
the  high  priestess,  "  the  tidings  reached  my  ears 
"  that  God  had  spoken  from  the  heavens  ;  that  he 
"  had  raised  up  a  prophet,  and  was  about  to  restore 
"  the  fullness  of  the  gospel  with  all  its  gifts  and 
"powers. 

"  During  my  brief  association  with  the  Campbell- 
"  ite  church,  I  was  deeply  interested  in  the  study  of 
"  the  ancient  prophets,  in  which  I  was  assisted  by 
"  the  erudite  Alexander  Campbell  himself,  and  Wal- 
"  ter  Scott,  whose  acquaintance  I  made, — but  more 
"  particularly  by  Sidney  Rigdon,  who  was  a  frequent 
"  visitor  at  my  father's  house. 

"  But  when  I  heard  of  the  mission  of  the  prophet 
"Joseph  I  was  afraid  it  was  not  genuine.  It  was 
"just  what  my  soul  had  hungered  for,  but  I  thought 
"  it  was  a  hoax. 

"  However,  I  improved  the  opportunity  and  at- 
"  tended  the  first  meeting  within  my  reach.  I  lis- 
"  tened  to  the  testimonials  of  two  of  the  witnesses 
"of  the  Book  of  Mormon.  Such  impressive  testi- 
"  monies  I  had  never  before  heard.  To  hear  men 


64  THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM. 

"  testify  that  they  had  seen  a  holy  angel — that  they 
"  had  listened  to  his  voice,  bearing  testimony  of  the 
"  work  that  was  ushering  in  a  new  dispensation  ; 
"  that  the  fullness  of  the  gospel  was  to  be  restored 
"  and  that  they  were  commanded  to  go  forth  and 
'  declare  it,  thrilled  my  inmost  soul. 

"Yet  it  must  be  remembered  that  when  Joseph 
"  Smith  was  called  to  his  great  mission,  more  than 
"  human  power  was  requisite  to  convince  people  that 
"  communication  with  the  invisible  world  was  possi- 
ble. He  was  scoffed  at,  ridiculed  and  persecuted 
"  for  asserting  that  he  had  received  a  revelation  ; 
"  now  the  world  is  flooded  with  revelations. 

"  Early  in  the  spring  of  1835,  my  eldest  sister, 
"who,  with  my  mother  was  baptized  in  1831,  by  the 
11  prophet,  returned  home  from  a  visit  to  the  saints 
"  in  Kirtland,  and  reported  of  the  faith  and  humility 
"  of  those  who  had  received  the  gospel  as  taught 
"by  Joseph, — the  progress  of  the  work,  the  order 
"  of  the  organization  of  the  priesthood  and  the  fre- 
"  quent  manifestations  of  the  power  of  God. 

11  The  spirit  bore  witness  to  me  of  the  truth.  I 
"  felt  that  I  had  waited  already  a  little  too  long  to 
"  see  whether  the  work  was  going  to  '  flash  in  the 
" '  pan '  and  go  out.  But  my  heart  was  now  fixed  ; 
"and  I  was  baptized  on  the  5th  of  April,  1835. 
"  From  that  day  to  this  I  have  not  doubted  the 
"  truth  of  the  work. 

"  In  December  following  I  went  to  Kirtland  and 
"  realized  much  happiness  in  the  enlarged  views  and 
"rich  intelligence  that  flowed  from  the  fountain  of 
"eternal  truth,  through  the  inspiration  of  the  Most 
"High. 


THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM.  65 

"  I  was  present  on  the  memorable  event  of  the 
"dedication  of  the  temple,  when  the  mighty  power 
"  of  God  was  displayed,  and  after  its  dedication 
"  enjoyed  many  refreshing  seasons  in  that  holy  sanc- 
"  tuary.  Many  times  have  I  witnessed  manifesta- 
"  tions  of  the  power  of  God,  in  the  precious  gifts  oi 
"the  gospel, — such  as  speaking  in  tongues,  the  in- 
"  terpretation  of  tongues,  prophesying,  healing  the 
"  sick,  causing  the  lame  to  walk,  the  blind  to  see, 
"the  deaf  to  hear,  and  the  dumb  to  speak.  Of 
"  such  manifestations  in  the  church  I  might  relate 
"  many  circumstances. 

"In  the  spring  I  taught  a  select  school  for  young 
"ladies,  boarding  in  the  family  of  the  prophet,  and 
"  at  the  close  of  the  term  returned  to  my  father's 
"  house,  where  my  friends  and  acquaintances  flocked 
"around  me  to  inquire  about  the  'strange  people' 
"  with  whom  I  was  associated.  I  was  exceedingly 
"  happy  in  testifying  of  what  I  had  both  seen  and 
"heard,  until  the  ist  of  January,  1837,  when  I  bade 
"  a  final  adieu  to  the  home  of  my  youth,  to  share 
"  the  fortunes  of  the  people  of  God. 

"On  my  return  to  Kirtland,  by  solicitation,  I  took 
"  up  my  residence  in  the  family  of  the  prophet,  and 
"  taught  his  family  school. 

"  Again  I  had  ample  opportunity  of  judging  of  his 
"  daily  walk  and  conversation,  and  the  more  I  made 
"  his  acquaintance,  the  more  cause  I  found  to  ap- 
preciate him  in  his  divine  calling.  His  lips  ever 
"  flowed  with  instruction  and  kindness ;  but,  although 
"very  forgiving,  indulgent  and  affectionate  in  his 
"  nature,  when  his  godlike  intuition  suggested  that 
"  the  good  of  his  brethren,  or  the  interests  of  the 

5 


66  THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM. 

"  kingdom  of  God  demanded  it,  no  fear  of  censure, 
"  no  love  of  approbation,  could  prevent  his  severe 
"  and  cutting  rebukes. 

"  His  expansive  mind  grasped  the  great  plan  of 
"  salvation,  and  solved  the  mystic  problem  of  man's 
"  destiny ;  he  was  in  possession  of  keys  that  un- 
"  locked  the  past  and  the  future,  with  its  successions 
"  of  eternities ;  yet  in  his  devotions  he  was  as  hum- 
"  ble  as  a  little  child.  Three  times  a  day  he  had 
"  family  worship ;  and  these  precious  seasons  of 
"  sacred  household  service  truly  seemed  a  foretaste 
"  of  celestial  happiness." 

Thus  commenced  that  peculiar  and  interesting 
relationship  between  the  prophet  and  the  inspired 
heroine  who  became  his  celestial  bride,  and  whose 
beautiful  ideals  have  so  much  glorified  celestial 
marriage. 

There  were  also  others  of  our  Mormon  heroines 
who  had  now  gathered  to  the  West  to  build  up  Zion, 
that  their  "  King  might  appear  in  his  glory."  Among 
them  was  that  exalted  woman — so  beloved  and  hon- 
ored in  the  Mormon  church — the  life-long  wife  of 
Heber  C.  Kimball.  There  were  also  Mary  Angel, 
and  many  apostolic  women  from  New  England, 
who  have  since  stood,  for  a  generation,  as  pillars 
in  the  latter-day  kingdom.  We  shall  meet  them 
hereafter. 

And  the  saints,  as  doves  flocking  to  the  window 
of  the  ark  of  the  new  covenant,  gathered  to  Zion. 
They  came  from  the  East  and  the  West  and  the 
North  and  the  South. 

Soon  the  glad  tidings  were  conveyed  to  other 
lands.  Great  Britain  "heard  the  word  of  the  Lord," 


THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM.  67 

borne  there  by  apostles  Heber  C.  Kimball,  Orson 
Hyde  and  Willard  Richards,  and  others. 

Soon  also  the  saints  began  to  gather  from  the 
four  quarters  of  the  earth  ;  and  those  gatherings  have 
increased  until  more  than  a  hundred  thousand  dis- 
ciples— the  majority  of  them  women — have  come  to 
America,  as  their  land  of  promise,  to  build  up  thereon 
the  Zion  of  the  last  days. 


CHAPTER  X. 

THE     LATTER-DAY      ILIAD REPRODUCTION      OF      THE 

GREAT    HEBRAIC    DRAMA THE    MEANING     OF    THE 

MORMON    MOVEMENT    IN    THE    AGE. 

It  was  "a  gathering  dispensation."  A  strange 
religion  indeed,  that  meant  something  more  than 
faith  and  prayers  and  creeds. 

An  empire-founding  religion,  as  we  have  said,— 
this  religion  of  a  latter-day  Israel.  A  religion,  in 
fact,  that  meant  all  that  the  name  of  "  Latter-day 
Israel"  implies.  . 

The  women  who  did  their  full  half  in  founding 
Mormondom,  comprehended,  as  much  as  did  their 
prototypes  who  came  up  out  of  Egypt,  the  signifi- 
cance of  the  name  of  Israel. 

Out  of  Egypt  the  seed  of  promise,  to  become  a 
peculiar  people,  a  holy  nation,  with  a  distinctive  God 
and  a  distinctive  destiny.  Out  of  modern  Babylon, 
to  repeat  the  same  Hebraic  drama  in  the  latter  age. 

A  Mormon  iliad  in  every  view ;  and  the  sisters 
understanding  it  fully.  Indeed  perhaps  they  have 
best  understood  it.  Their  very  experience  quick- 
ened their  comprehension. 

The  cross  and  the  crown  of  thorns  quicken  the 
conception  of  a  crucifixion.  The  Mormon  women 


THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM.  69 

have  borne  the  cross  and  worn  the  crown  of  thorns 
for  a  full  lifetime ;  not  in  their  religion,  but  in  their 
experience.  Their  strange  destiny  and  the  divine 
warfare  incarnated  in  their  lives,  gave  them  an  ex- 
perience matchless  in  its  character  and  unparalleled 
in  its  sacrifices. 

T.he  sisters  understood  their  religion,  and  they 
counted  the  cost  of  their  divine  ambitions. 

What  that  cost  has  been  to  these  more  than 
Spartan  women,  we  shall  find  in  tragic  stories  of 
their  lives,  fast  unfolding  in  the  coming  narrative  of 
their  gatherings  and  exterminations. 

For  the  first  twenty  years  of  their  history  the 
tragedy  of  the  Latter-day  Israel  was  woeful  enough 
to  make  their  guardian  angels  weep,  and  black 
enough  in  its  scenes  to  satisfy  the  angriest  demons. 

This  part  of  the  Mormon  drama  began  in  1831 
with  the  removal  of  the  church  from  the  State  of 
New  York  to  Kirtland,  Ohio,  and  to  Jackson,  and 
other  counties  in  Missouri  ;  and  it  culminated  in 
the  martyrdom  of  the  prophet  and  his  brother  at 
Nauvoo,  and  the  exodus  to  the  Rocky  Mountains. 
In  all  these  scenes  the  sisters  have  shown  them- 
selves matchless  heroines. 

The  following,  from  an  early  poem,  written  by  the 
prophetess,  Eliza  R.  Snow,  will  finely  illustrate  the 
Hebraic  character  of  the  Mormon  work,  and  the 
heroic  spirit  in  which  these  women  entered  into  the 
divine  action  of  their  lives : 

My  heart  is  fix'd — I  know  in  whom  I  trust. 
'Twas  not  for  wealth — 'twas  not  to  gather  heaps 
Of  perishable  things — 'twas  not  to  twine 
Around  my  brow  a  transitory  wreath, 
A  garland  decked  with  gems  of  mortal  praise, 


7O  THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM. 

That  I  forsook  the  home  of  childhood ;  that 
I  left  the  lap  of  ease — the  halo  rife 
With  friendship's  richest,  soft,  and  mellow  tones ; 
Affection's  fond  caresses,  and  the  cup 
O'erflowing  with  the  sweets  of  social  life, 
With  high  refinement's  golden  pearls  enrich'd. 

Ah,  no !  A  holier  purpose  fir'd  my  soul ; 
A  nobler  object  prompted  my  pursuit. 
Eternal  prospects  open'd  to  my  view, 
And  hope  celestial  in  my  bosom  glow'd. 
God,  who  commanded  Abraham  to  leave 
His  native  country,  and  to  offer  up 
On  the  lone  altar,  where  no  eye  beheld 
But  that  which  never  sleeps,  an  only  son, 
Is  still  the  same ;  and  thousands  who  have  made 
A  covenant  with  him  by  sacrifice, 
Are  bearing  witness  to  the  sacred  truth — 
Jehovah  speaking  has  reveal'd  his  will. 

The  proclamation  sounded  in  my  ear — 
It  reached  my  heart — I  listen'd  to  the  sound- 
Counted  the  cost,  and  laid  my  earthly  all 
Upon  the  altar,  and  with  purpose  fix'd 
Unalterably,  while  the  spirit  of 
Elijah's  God  within  my  bosom  reigns, 
Embrac'd  the  everlasting  covenant, 
And  am  determined  now  to  be  a  saint, 
And  number  with  the  tried  and  faithful  ones, 
Whose  race  is  measured  with  their  life  ;  whose  prize 
Is  everlasting,  and  whose  happiness 
Is  God's  approval ;  and  to  whom  'tis  more 
Than  meat  and  drink  to  do  his  righteous  will. 

*  *  #  * 

Although  to  be  a  saint  requires 
A  noble  sacrifice — an  arduous  toil — 
A  persevering  aim ;  the  great  reward 
Awaiting  the  grand  consummation  will 
Repay  the  price,  however  costly ;  and 
The  pathway  of  the  saint  the  safest  path 
Will  prove ;  though  perilous — for  'tis  foretold, 
All  things  that  can  be  shaken,  God  will  shake ; 
Kingdoms  and  governments,  and  institutes, 
Both  civil  and  religious,  must  be  tried — 
Tried  to  the  core,  and  sounded  to  the  depth. 

Then  let  me  be  a  saint,  and  be  prepar'd 
For  the  approaching  day,  which  like  a  snare 


THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM.  Jl 

Will  soon  surprise  the  hypocrite — expose 
The  rottenness  of  human  schemes — shake  off 
Oppressive  fetters — break  the  gorgeous  reins 
Usurpers  hold,  and  lay  the  pride  of  man — • 
The  pride  of  nations,  low  in  dust ! 

And  there  was  in  these  gatherings  of  our  latter- 
day  Israel,  like  as  in  this  poem,  a  tremendous  mean- 
ing. It  is  of  the  Hebrew  significance  and  genius 
rather  than  of  the  Christian  ;  for  Christ  is  now  Mes- 
siah, King  of  Israel,  and  not  the  Babe  of  Bethlehem. 
Mormondom  is  no  Christian  sect,  but  an  Israelitish 
nationality,  and  even  woman,  the  natural  prophetess 
of  the  reign  of  peace,  is  prophesying  of  the  shaking 
of  "  kingdoms  and  governments  and  all  human 


institutions." 


The  Mormons  from  the  beginning  well  digested 
the  text  to  the  great  Hebrew  drama,  and  none  better 
than  the  sisters  ;  here  it  is  : 

"  Now  the  Lord  had  said  unto  Abram,  get  thee 
"  out  of  thy  country,  and  from  thy  kindred,  and  from 
"  thy  father's  house,  unto  a  land  that  I  will  shew 
" thee  ; 

"  And  I  will  make  of  thee  a  great  nation,  and  I 
"  will  bless  thee,  and  make  thy  name  great ;  and 
"  thou  shalt  be  a  blessing  ; 

"  And  I  will  bless  them  that  bless  thee,  and  curse 
"  him  that  curseth  thee  ;  and  in  thee  shall  all  fam- 
"  ilies  of  the  earth  be  blessed." 

And  so,  for  now  nearly  fifty  years,  this  Mormon 
Israel  have  been  getting  out  of  their  native  coun- 
tries, and  from  their  kindred,  and  from  their  father's 
house  unto  the  gathering  places  that  their  God  has 
shown  them. 

But  they  have  been  driven  from  those  gathering 


72  THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM. 

places  from  time  to  time ;  yes,  driven  farther  west. 
There  was  the  land  which  God  was  showing  them. 
At*  first  it  was  too  distant  to  be  seen  even  by  the 
eye  of  faith.  Too  many  thousands  of  n!!es  even 
for  the  Spartan  heroism  of  the  sisters  ;  too  dark  a 
tragedy  of  expulsions  and  martyrdoms ;  and  too 
many  years  of  exoduses  and  probations.  The  wrath 
of  the  Gentiles  drove  them  where  their  destiny  led 
them — to  the  land  which  God  was  showing  them. 

And  for  the  exact  reason  that  the  patriarchal 
Abraham  and  Sarah  were  commanded  to  get  out  of 
their  country  and  from  their  kindred  and  their 
father's  house,  so  were  the  Abrahams  and  Sarahs  of 
our  time  commanded  by  the  same  God  and  for  the 
same  purpose. 

"  I  will  make  of  thee  a  great  nation."  "  And  I 
will  make  my  covenant  between  me  and  thee,  and  I 
will  multiply  thee  exceedingly."  "  And  thou  shalt 
be  a  father  of  many  nations."  "  And  I  will  establish 
my  covenant  between  me  and  thee  and  thy  seed 
after  thee  in  their  generations,  for  an  everlasting 
covenant,  to  be  a  God  unto  thee  and  thy  seed  after 
thee." 

To  fulfill  this  in  the  lives  of  these  spiritual  sons 
and  daughters  of  Abraham  and  Sarah,  the  gathering 
dispensation  was  brought  in.  These  Mormons  have 
gathered  from  the  beginning  that  they  might  be- 
come the  fathers  and  mothers  of  a  nation,  and  that 
through  them  the  promises  made  to  the  Abrahamic 
fathers  and  mothers  might  be  greatly  fulfilled. 

This  is  most  literal,  and  was  well  understood  in 
the  early  rise  of  the  church,  long  before  polygamy 
was  known.  Yet  who  cannot  now  see  that  in  such 


THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM.  73 

A  patriarchal    covenant  was    the  very    overture   of 
patriarchal  marriage — or  polygamy. 

So  in  the  early  days  quite  a  host  of  the  daughters 
of  New  England — earnest  and  purest  of  women- 
many  of  them  unmarried,  and  most  of  them  in  the 
bloom  of  womanhood — gathered  to  the  virgin  West 
to  become  the  mothers  of  a  nation,  and  to  build 
temples  to  the  name  of  a  patriarchal  God ! 


CHAPTER  XI. 

THE    LAND    OF     TEMPLES AMERICA    THE     NEW   JERU- 
SALEM  DARING     CONCEPTION     OF      THE     MORMON 

PROPHET FULFILLMENT  OF  THE  ABRAHAMIC  PRO- 
GRAMME  WOMAN  TO  BE    AN    ORACLE  OF  JEHOVAH. 

Two  thousand  years  had  nearly  passed  since  the 
destruction  of  the  temple  of  Solomon  ;  three  thou- 
sand years,  nearly,  since  that  temple  of  the  old 
Jerusalem  was  built. 

Yet  here  in  America  in  the  nineteenth  century, 
among  the  Gentiles,  a  modern  Israel  began  to  rear 
temples  to  the  name  of  the  God  of  Israel !  Tem- 
ples to  be  reared  to  his  august  name  in  every  State 
on  this  vast  continent !  Thus  runs  the  Mormon 
prophesy. 

All  America,  the  New  Jerusalem  of  the  last  days  ! 
All  America  for  the  God  of  Israel  !  What  a  con- 
ception !  Yet  these  daughters  of  Zion  perfectly 
understood  it  nearly  fifty  years  ago. 

Joseph  was  indeed  a  sublime  and  daring  oracle. 
Such  a  conception  grasped  even  before  he  laid  the 
foundation  stone  of  a  Zion — that  all  America  is  to 
be  the  New  Jerusalem  of  the  world  and  of  the 
future — was  worthy  to  make  him  the  prophet  of 
America. 


THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM.  75 

Zion  was  not  a  county  in  Missouri,  a  city  in  Ohio 
or  Illinois  ;  nor  is  she  now  a  mere  embryo  State  in 
the  Rocky  Mountains. 

Kirtland  was  but  a  "  stake  of  Zion "  where  the 
first  temple  rose.  Jackson  county  is  the  enchanted 
spot  where  the  "centre  stake"  of  Zion  is  to  be 
planted,  and  the  grand  temple  reared,  by-and-by. 
Nauvoo  with  its  temple  was  another  stake.  Utah 
also  is  but  a  stake.  Here  we  have  already  the  tem- 
ple of  St.  George,  and  in  Salt  Lake  City  a  temple 
is  being  built  which  will  be  a  Masonic  unique  to  this 
continent. 

Perchance  it  will  stand  in  the  coming  time  scarcely 
less  a  monument  to  the  name  of  its  builder — Brig- 
ham  Young — than  the  temple  of  Old  Jerusalem  has 
been  to  the  name  of  Solomon. 

But  all  America  is  the  world's  New  Jerusalem ! 

With  this  cardinal  conception  crowding  the  soul 
of  the  Mormon  prophet,  inspired  by  the  very  arch- 
angels of  Israel,  what  a  vast  Abrahamic  drama 
opened  to  the  view  of  the  saints  in  Kirtland  when 
the  first  temple  lifted  its  sacred  tower  to  the  skies ! 

The  archangels  ot  Israel  had  come  down  to  fulfill 
on  earth  the  grand  Abrahamic  programme.  The 
two  worlds — the  visible  and  the  invisible — were 
quickly  engaging  in  the  divine  action,  to  consum- 
mate, in  this  "  dispensation  of  the  fullness  of  times," 
the  promises  made  unto  the  fathers. 

And  all  America  for  the  God  of  Israel. 

There  is  method  in  Mormonism — method  infinite. 
Mormonism  is  Masonic.  The  God  of  Israel  is  a 
covenant  maker  ;  the  crown  of  the  covenant  is  the 
temple. 


76  THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM. 

But  woman  must  not  be  lost  to  view  in  our  admi- 
ration of  the  prophet's  conceptions. 

How  stands  woman  in  the  grand  temple  economy, 
as  she  loomed  up  in  her  mission,  from  the  house  of 
the  Lord  in  Kirtland  ? 

The  apostles  and  elders  laid  the  foundations, 
raised  the  arches,  and  put  on  the  cap  stone ;  but 
it  was  woman  that  did  the  "  inner  work  of  the 
temple." 

George  A.  Smith  hauled  the  first  load  of  rock ; 
Heber  C.  Kimball  worked  as  an  operative  mason, 
and  Brigham  Young  as  a  painter  and  glazier  in  the 
house  ;  but  the  sisters  wrought  on  the  "  veils  of  the 
temple." 

Sister  Polly  Angel,  wife  of  Truman  O.  Angel,  the 
church  architect,  relates  that  she  and  a  band  of  sis- 
ters were  working  on  the  "  veils,"  one  day,  when  the 
prophet  and  Sidney  Rigdon  came  in. 

"  Well,  sisters,"  observed  Joseph,  "you  are  always 
"  on  hand.  The  sisters  are  always  first  and  fore- 
"  most  in  all  good  works.  Mary  was  first  at  the 
"  resurrection  ;  and  the  sisters  now  are  the  first  to 
"  work  on  the  inside  of  the  temple." 

'  Tis  but  a  simple  incident,  but  full  of  significance. 
It  showed  Joseph's  instinctive  appreciation  of  woman 
and  her  mission.  Her  place  was  inside  the  temple, 
and  he  was  about  to  put  her  there, — a  high  priestess 
of  Jehovah,  to  whose  name  he  was  building  temples. 
And  wonderfully  suggestive  was  his  prompting,  that 
woman  was  the  first  witness  of  the  resurrection. 

Once   ao;ain  woman  had  become  an  oracle  of  a 

o 

new  dispensation  and  a  new  civilization.     She  can 
only  properly  be  this  when  a  temple  economy  comes 


THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM.  77 

round  in  the  unfolding  of  the  ages.     She  can  only 
be  a  legitimate  oracle  in  the  temple. 

When  she  dares  to  play  the  oracle,  without  her 
divine  mission  and  anointing,  she  is  accounted  in 
society  as  a  witch,  a  fortune-teller,  a  medium,  who 
divines  for  hire  and  sells  the  gift  of  the  invisibles 
for  money. 

But  in  the  temple  woman  is  a  sacred  and  sublime 
oracle.  She  is  a  prophetess  and  a  high  priestess. 
Inside  the  temple  she  cannot  but  be  as  near  the 
invisibles  as  man — nearer  indeed,  from  her  finer 
nature,  inside  the  mystic  veil,  the  emblems  of  which 
she  has  worked  upon  with  her  own  hands. 

Of  old  the  oracle  had  a  priestly  royalty.  The 
story  of  Alexander  the  Great  and  the  oracle  of 
Delphi  is  famous.  The  conqueror  demanded  speech 
from  the  oracle  concerning  his  destiny.  The  oracle 
was  a  woman  ;  and  womanlike  she  refused  to  utter 
the  voice  of  destiny  at  the  imperious  bidding  of  a 
mortal.  But  Alexander  knew  that  woman  was  in- 
spired— that  he  held  in  his  grip  the  incarnated  spirit 
of  the  temple,  and  he  essayed  to  drag  her  to  the 
holy  ground  where  speech  was  given. 

"  He  is  invincible  !"  exclaimed  the  oracle,  in  wrath. 
"  The  oracle  speaks  !"  cried  Alexander,  in  exulta- 
tion. 

The  prophetess  was  provoked  to  an  utterance ; 
woman  forced  to  obey  the  stronger  will  of  man  ;  but 
it  was  woman's  inspired  voice  that  sent  Alexander 
through  the  world  a  conquering  destiny. 

And  the  prophet  of  Mormondom  knew  that 
woman  is,  by  the  gifts  of  God  and  nature,  an  in- 
spired being.  If  she  was  this  in  the  temples  of 


78  THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM. 

Egypt  and  Greece,  more  abundantly  is  she  this  in 
the  temples  of  Israel.  In  them  woman  is  the  me- 
dium of  Jehovah..  This  is  what  the  divine  scheme 
of  the  Mormon  prophet  has  made  her  to  this  age ; 
and  she  began  her  great  mission  to  the  world  in  the 
temple  at  Kirtland. 

But  this  temple-building  of  the  Mormons  has  a 
vaster  meaning  than  the  temples  of  Egypt,  the  ora- 
cles of  Greece,  or  the  cathedrals  of  the  Romish 
Church. 

It  is  the  vast  Hebrew  iliad,  begun  with  Abraham 
and  brought  down  through  the  ages,  in  a  race  still 
preserved  with  more  than  its  original  quality  and 
fibre ;  and  in  a  God  who  is  raising  up  unto  Abra- 
ham a  mystical  seed  of  promise,  a  latter-day  Israel. 
'  Jehovah  is  a  covenant-maker.  "  And  I  will  make 
with  Israel  a  new  and  everlasting  covenant,"  is  the 
text  that  Joseph  and  Brigham  have  been  working 
upon.  Hence  this  temple  building  in  America,  to 
fulfill  and  glorify  the  new  covenant  of  Israel. 

The  first  covenant  was  made  with  Abraham  and 
the  patriarchs  in  the  East.  The  greater  and  the 
everlasting  covenant  will  restore  the  kingdom  to 
Israel.  That  covenant  has  been  made  in  the  West, 
with  these  veritable  children  of  Abraham.  God  has 
raised  up  children  unto  Abraham  to  fulfill  the 
promises  made  to  him.  This  is  Mormonism. 

The  West  is  the  future  world.  Yet  how  shall 
there  be  the  new  civilization  without  its  distinctive 
temples  ?  Certainly  there  shall  be  no  Abrahamic 
dispensation  and  covenant  unless  symbolized  by 
temples  raised  to  the  name  of  the  God  of  Israel ! 

All  America,  then,  is  Zion ! 


THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM.  79 

A  hundred  temples  lifting  their  towers  to  the 
skies  in  the  world's  New  Jerusalem.  Temples  built 
to  the  name  of  the  God  of  Israel. 

Mark  this  august  wonder  of  the  age;  the  Mor- 
mons build  not  temples  to  the  name  of  Jesus,  but  to 
the  name  of  Jehovah — not  to  the  Son,  but  to  the 
Father. 

The  Hebrew  symbol  is  not  the  cross,  but  the 
sceptre.  The  Hebrews  know  nothing  of  the  cross. 
It  is  the  symbol  of  heathenism,  whence  Rome  re- 
ceived her  signs  and  her  worship.  Rome  adopted 
the  cross  and  she  has  borne  it  as  her  mark.  She 
never  reared  her  cathedrals  to  the  name  of  the  God 
of  Israel,  nor  has  she  taught  the  nations  to  fear  his 
name.  Nor  has  she  prophesied  of  the  New  Jerusa- 
lem of  the  last  days,  which  must  supersede  Rome 
and  give  the  millennial  civilization  to  the  world. 

The  reign  of  Messiah  !  Temples  to  the  Most 
High  God  !  The  sceptre,  not  the  cross  ! 

There  is  a  grand  Masonic  consistency  in  the  divine 
scheme  of  the  Mormon  prophet,  and  the  sisters 
began  to  comprehend  the  infinite  themes  of  their 
religion  when  they  worked  in  the  temple  at  Kirt- 
land,  and  beheld  in  the  service  the  glory  of  Israel's 
God. 


CHAPTER  XII. 

ELIZA    R.    SNOW'S    GRAPHIC   DESCRIPTION    OF  THE   TEM- 
PLE   AND    ITS    DEDICATION HOSANNAS     TO    GOD 

HIS    GLORY    FILLS    THE    HOUSE. 

The  erection  of  the  Kirtland  temple  was  a  lead- 
ing characteristic  of  the  work  of  the  last  dispensa- 
tion. 

It  was  commenced  in  June,  1833,  under  the  im- 
mediate direction  of  the  Almighty,  through  his 
servant,  Joseph  Smith,  whom  he  had  called  in  his 
boyhood,  like  Samuel  of  old,  to  introduce  the  full- 
ness of  the  everlasting  gospel. 

At  that  time  the  saints  were  few  in  number,  and 
most  of  them  very  poor ;  and,  had  it  not  been  for 
the  assurance  that  God  had  spoken,  and  had  com- 
manded that  a  house  should  be  built  to  his  name, 
of  which  he  not  only  revealed  the  form,  but  also 
designated  the  dimensions,  an  attempt  towards 
building  that  temple,  under  the  then  existing  cir- 
cumstances, would  have  been,  by  all  concerned,, 
pronounced  preposterous. 

Although  many  sections  of  the  world  abounded 
with  mosques,  churches,  synagogues  and  cathedrals,, 
built  professedly  for  worship,  this  was  the  first 
instance,  for  the  lapse  of  many  centuries,  of  God 
having  given  a  pattern,  from  the  heavens,  and  man- 


THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM.  8 1 

ifested  by  direct  revelation  how  the  edifice  should 
be  constructed,  in  order  that  he  might  accept  and 
acknowledge  it  as  his  own.  This  knowledge  in- 
spired the  saints  to  almost  superhuman  efforts,  while 
through  faith  and  union  they  acquired  strength.  In 
comparison  with  eastern  churches  and  cathedrals, 
this  temple  is  not  large,  but  in  view  of  the  amount 
of  available  means  possessed,  a  calculation  of  the 
cost,  at  the  lowest  possible  figures,  would  have 
staggered  the  faith  of  any  but  Latter-day  saints  ; 
and  it  now  stands  as  a  monumental  pillar. 

Its  dimensions  are  eighty  by  fifty-nine  feet ;  the 
walls  fifty  feet  high,  and  the  tower  one  hundred  and 
ten  feet.  The  two  main  halls  are  fifty-five  by  sixty- 
five  feet,  in  the  inner  court.  The  building  has  four 
vestries  in  front,  and  five  rooms  in  the  attic,  which 
were  devoted  to  literature,  and  for  meetings  of  the 
various  quorums  of  the  priesthood. 

There  was  a  peculiarity  in  the  arrangement  of  the 
inner  court  which  made  it  more  than  ordinarily  im- 
pressive— so  much  so  that  a  sense  of  sacred  awe 
seemed  to  rest  upon  all  who  entered  ;  not  only  the 
saints,  but  strangers  also  manifested  a  high  degree 
of  reverential  feeling.  Four  pulpits  stood,  one  above 
another,  in  the  centre  of  the  building,  from  north 
to  south,  both  on  the  east  and  west  ends ;  those  on 
the  west  for  the  presiding  officers  of  the  Melchi- 
sidec  priesthood,  and  those  on  the  east  for  the 
Aaronic^  and  each  of  these  pulpits  was  separated 
by  curtains  of  white  painted  canvas,  which  were  let 
down  and  drawn  up  at  pleasure.  In  front  of  each 
of  these  two  rows  of  pulpits,  was  a  sacrament 
t,ible,  for  the  administration  of  that  sacred  ordi- 

6 


82  THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM. 

nance.  In  each  corner  of  the  court  was  an  elevated 
pew  for  the  singers — the  choir  being  distributed  into 
four  compartments.  In  addition  to  the  pulpit  cur- 
tains, were  others,  intersecting  at  right  angles,  which 
divided  the  main  grpund-floor  hall  into  four  equal 
sections — giving  to  each  one-half  of  one  set  of  pul- 
pits. 

From  the  day  the  ground  was  broken  for  laying 
the  foundation  for  the  temple,  until  its  dedication 
on  the  2/th  of  March,  1836,  the  work  was  vigorously 
prosecuted. 

With  very  little  capital  except  brain,  bone  and 
sinew,  combined  with  unwavering  trust  in  God,  men, 
women,  and  even  children,  worked  with  their  might; 
while  the  brethren  labored  in  their  departments,  the 
sisters  were  actively  engaged  in  boarding  and  cloth- 
ing workmen  not  otherwise  provided  for — all  living 
as  abstemiously  as  possible  so  that  every  cent  might 
be  appropriated  to  the  grand  object,  while  their 
energies  were  stimulated  by  the  prospect  of  partici- 
pating in  the  blessing  of  a  house  built  by  the  direc- 
tion of  the  Most  High  and  accepted  by  him. 

The  dedication  was  looked  forward  to  with  in- 
tense interest ;  and  when  the  day  arrived  (Sunday, 
March  27th,  1836),  a  dense  multitude  assembled— 
the  temple  was  filled  to  its  utmost,  and  when  the 
ushers  were  compelled  to  close  the  doors,  the  out- 
side congregation  was  nearly  if  not  quite  as  large 
as  that  within. 

Four  hundred  and  sixteen  elders,  including  pro- 
phets and  apostles,  with  the  first  great  prophets  of 
the  last  dispensation  at  their  head,  were  present- 
men  who  had  been  "called  of  God  as  was  Aaron," 


THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM.  83 

and  clothed  with  the  holy  priesthood  ;  many  of 
them  having  just  returned  from  missions,  on  which 
they  had  gone  forth  like  the  ancient  disciples, 
"  without  purse  or  scrip,"  now  to  feast  for  a  little 
season  on  the  sweet  spirit  of  love  and  union,  in  the 
midst  of  those  who  had  "  tasted  of  the  powers  of 
the  world  to  come." 

At  the  hour  appointed,  the  assembly  was  seated, 
the  Melchisidec  and  Aaronic 'priesthoods  being  ar- 
ranged as  follows :  West  end  of  the  house,  Presi- 
dents Frederick  G.  Williams,  Joseph  SHth,  Sr., 
and  William  W.  Phelps,  occupied  the  first  pulpit 
for  the  Melchisidec  priesthood ;  Presidents  Joseph 
Smith,  Jr.,  Hyrum  Smith  and  Sidney  Rigdon,  the 
second ;  Presidents  David  Whitmer,  Oliver  Cow- 
dry  and  John  Whitmer,  the  third  ;  the  fourth  pulpit 
was  occupied  by  the  president  of  the  high-priest's 
quorum  and  his  councilors,  and  two  choristers.  The 
twelve  apostles  were  on  the  right,  in  the  highest 
three  seats;  the  president  of  the  elders,  his  two 
councilors  and  clerk  in  the  seat  directly  below  the 
twelve.  The  High  Council  of  Kirtland,  consisting 
of  twelve,  were  on  the  left,  on  the  first  three  seats. 
The  fourth  seat,  and  next  below  the  High  Council, 
was  occupied  by  Warren  A.  Cowdry  and  Warren 
Parrish,  who  officiated  as  scribes. 

In  the  east  end  of  the  house,  the  Bishop  of  Kirt- 
land— Newel  K.  Whitney — and  his  councilors  occu- 
pied the  first  pulpit  for  the  Aaronic  priesthood  ;  the 
Bishop  of  Zion — Edward  Partridge — and  his  coun- 
cilors, the  second  ;  the  President  of  the  priests  and 
his  councilors,  the  third  ;  the  President  of  the  teach- 
ers, and  his  councilors,  and  one  chorister,  the  fourth  ; 


84  THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM. 

the  High  Council  of  Zion,  consisting  of  twelve 
councilors,  on  the  right ;  the  President  of  the  dea- 
cons, and  his  councilors,  in  the  next  seat  below 
them,  and  the  seven  presidents  of  the  seventies,  on 
the  left. 

At  nine  o'clock,  President  Sidney  Rigdon  com- 
menced the  services  of  that  great  and  memorable 
day,  by  reading  the  ninety-sixth  and  twenty-fourth 
Psalms ;  "  Ere  long  the  vail  will  be  rent  in  twain," 
etc.,  was  sung  by  the  choir,  and  after  President 
Rigdon  had  addressed  the  throne  of  grace  in  fer- 
vent prayer,  "  O  happy  souls  who  pray,"  etc.,  was 
sung.  President  Rigdon  then  read  the  eighteenth, 
nineteenth,  and  twentieth  verses  of  the  eighteenth 
chapter  of  Matthew,  and  spoke  more  particularly 
from  the  last-named  verse,  continuing  his  eloquent, 
logical  and  sublime  discourse  for  two  and  a  half 
hours.  At  one  point,  as  he  reviewed  the  toils  and 
privations  of  those  who  had  labored  in  rearing  the 
walls  of  that  sacred  edifice,  he  drew  tears  from  many 
eyes,  saying,  there  were  those  who  had  wet  those 
walls  with  their  tears,  when,  in  the  silent  shades  of 
the  night,  they  were  praying  to  the  God  of  heaven 
to  protect  them,  and  stay  the  unhallowed  hands  of 
ruthless  spoilers,  who  had  uttered  a  prophesy,  when 
the  foundation  was  laid,  that  the  walls  shoyld  never 
be  erected. 

In  reference  to  his  main  subject,  the  speaker  as- 
sumed that  in  the  days  of  the  Saviour  there  were 
synagogues  where  the  Jews  worshipped  God;  and 
in  addition  to  those,  the  splendid  temple  in  Jerusa- 
lem ;  yet  when,  on  a  certain  occasion,  one  proposed 
to  follow  him,  withersoever  he  went,  though  heir  of 


THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM.  85 

all  things,  he  cried  out  in  bitterness  of  soul,  "The 
"foxes  have  holes,  and  the  birds  of  the  air  have 
"  nests,  but  the  Son  of  Man  hath  not  where  to  lay  his 
"  head."  From  this  the  speaker  drew  the  conclusion 
that  the  Most  High  did  not  put  his  name  there, 
neither  did  he  accept  the  worship  of  those  who 
paid  their  vows  and  adorations  there.  This  was 
evident  from  the  fact  that  they  did  not  receive  the 
Saviour,  but  thrust  him  from  them,  saying,  "  Away 
with  him!  Crucify  him!  Crucify  him!"  It  was 
therefore  evident  that  his  spirit  did  not  dwell  in 
them.  They  were  the  degenerate  sons  of  noble 
sires,  but  they  had  long  since  slain  the  prophets  and 
seers,  through  whom  the  Lord  had  revealed  him- 
self to  the  children  of  men.  They  were  not  led  by 
revelation.  This,  said  the  speaker,  was  the  grand 
difficulty — their  unbelief  in  present  revelation.  He 
then  clearly  demonstrated  the  fact  that  diversity  of, 
and  contradictory  opinions  did,  and  would  prevail 
among  people  not  led  by  present  revelation  ;  which 
forcibly  applies  to  the  various  religious  sects  of  our 
own  day ;  and  inasmuch  as  they  manifest  the  same 
spirit,  they  must  be  under  the  same  condemnation 
with  those  who  were  coeval  with  the  Saviour. 

He  admitted  there  were  many  houses — many  suf- 
ficiently large,  built  for  the  worship  of  God,  but  not 
one,  except  this,  on  the  face  of  the  whole  earth,  that 
was  built  by  divine  revelation  ;  and  were  it  not  for 
this,  the  dear  Redeemer  might,  in  this  day  of  science, 
intelligence  and  religion,  say  to  those  who  would 
follow  him,  uThe  foxes  have  holes,  the  birds  of  the 
"air  have  nests,  but  the  Son  of  Man  hath  not  where 
"  to  lay  his  head." 


86  THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM. 

After  the  close  of  his  discourse,  President  Rigdon 
presented  for  an  expression  of  their  faith  and  confi- 
dence, Joseph  Smith,  Jr.,  as  prophet,  seer  and  reve- 
lator,  to  the  various  quorums,  and  the  whole  con- 
gregation of  saints,  and  a  simultaneous  rising  up 
followed,  in  token  of  unanimous  confidence,  and 
covenant  to  uphold  him  as  such,  by  their  faith  and 
prayers. 

The  morning  services  were  concluded  by  the  choir 
singing,  "  Now  let  us  rejoice  in  the  day  of  salvation," 
etc.  During  an  intermission  of  twenty  minutes,  the 
congregation  remained  seated,  and  the  afternoon 
services  opened  by  singing,  "  This  earth  was  once  a 
garden  place,"  etc.  President  Joseph  Smith,  Jr.,  ad- 
dressed the  assembly  for  a  few  moments,  and  then 
presented  the  first  presidency  of  the  church  as  pro- 
phets, seers,  and  revelators,  and  called  upon  all  who 
felt  to  acknowledge  them  as  such,  to  manifest  it  by 
rising  up.  All  arose.  He  then  presented  the  twelve 
apostles  who  were  present,  as  prophets,  seers,  and 
revelators,  and  special  witnesses  to  all  the  earth, 
holding  the  keys  of  the  kingdom  of  God,  to  unlock 
it,  or  cause  it  to  be  done  among  them  ;  to  which  all 
assented  by  rising  to  their  feet.  He  then  presented 
the  other  quorums  in  their  order,  and  the  vote  was 
unanimous  in  every  instance. 

He  then  prophesied  to  all,  that  inasmuch  as  they 
would  uphold  these  men  in  their  several  stations 
(alluding  to  the  different  quorums  in  the  church), 
the  Lord  would  bless  them,  "yea,  in  the  name  of 
"Christ,  the  blessings  of  heaven  shall  be  yours; 
"and  when  the  Lord's  anointed  shall  go  forth  to 
"  proclaim  the  word,  bearing  testimony  to  this  gen- 


THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM.  $7 

"  eration,  if  they  receive  it  they  shall  be  blest ;  but 
"  if  not,  the  judgments  of  God  will  follow  close  upon 
"  them,  until  that  city  or  that  house  which  rejects 
"  them,  shall  be  left  desolate." 

The  hymn  commencing  with  "  How  pleased  and 
blest  was  I,"  was  sung,  and  the  following  dedicatory 
prayer  offered  by  the  prophet,  Joseph  Smith : 

"  Thanks  be  to  thy  name,  O  Lord  God  of  Israel, 
who  keepest  covenant  and  showest  mercy  unto  thy 
servants  who  walk  uprightly  before  thee,  with  all 
their  hearts  ;  thou  who  hast  commanded  thy  ser- 
vants to  build  a  house  to  thy  name  in  this  place. 
And  now  thou  beholdest,  O  Lord,  that  thy  servants 
have  done  according  to  thy  commandment.'  And 
now  we  ask  thee,  Holy  Father,  in  the  name  of  Jesus 
Christ,  the  son  of  thy  bosom,  in  whose  name  alone 
salvation  can  be  administered  to  the  children  of 
men,  we  ask  thee,  O  Lord,  to  accept  of  this  house, 
the  workmanship  of  the  hands  of  us,  thy  servants, 
which  thou  didst  command  us  to  build;  for  thou 
knowest  that  we  have  done  this  work  through  great 
tribulation  ;  and  out  of  our  poverty  we  have  given 
of  our  substance,  to  build  a  house  to  thy  name,  that 
the  Son  of  Man  might  have  a  place  to  manifest  him- 
self to  his  people.  And  as  thou  hast  said  in  a  reve- 
lation, given  to  us,  calling  us  thy  friends,  saying, 
'  call  your  solemn  assembly,  as  I  have  commanded 
you ;  and  as  all  have  not  faith,  seek  ye  diligently, 
and  teach  one  another  words  of  wisdom  ;  yea,  seek 
ye  out  of  the  best  books,  words  of  wisdom  ;  seek 
learning  even  by  study,  and  also  by  faith.  Organize 
yourselves;  prepare  every  needful  thing,  and  estab- 
lish a  house,  even  a  house  of  prayer,  a  house  of 
fasting,  a  house  of  faith,  a  house  of  learning,  a  house 
of  glory,  a  house  of  order,  a  house  of  God.  That 
your  incomings  may  be  in  the  name  of  the  Lord, 
that  your  outgoings  may  be  in  the  name  of  the  Lord, 


88  THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM. 

that  all  your  salutations  may  be  in  the  name  of  the 
Lord,  with  uplifted  hands  to  the  Most  High.' 

"  And  now,  Holy  Father,  we  ask  thee  to  assist  us, 
thy  people,  with  thy  grace,  in  calling  our  solemn 
assembly,  that  it  may  be  done  to  thy  honor,  and  to 
thy  divine  acceptance.  And  in  a  manner  that  we 
may  be  found  worthy  in  thy  sight,  to  secure  a  ful- 
fillment of  the  promises  which  thou  hast  made  unto 
us,  thy  people,  in  the  revelations  given  unto  us  ;  that 
thy  glory  may  rest  down  upon  thy  people,  and  upon 
this  thy  house,  which  we  now  dedicate  to  thee,  that 
it  may  be  sanctified  and  consecrated  to  be  holy,  and 
that  thy  holy  presence  may  be  continually  in  this 
house,  and  that  all  people  who  shall  enter  upon  the 
threshold  of  the  Lord's  house  may  feel  thy  power, 
and  feel  constrained  to  acknowledge  that  thou  hast 
sanctified  it,  and  that  it  is  thy  house,  a  place  of  thy 
holiness.  And  do  thou  grant,  Holy  Father,  that  all 
those  who  shall  worship  in  this  house,  may  be  taught 
words  of  wisdom  out  of  the  best  books,  and  that 
they  may  seek  learning  even  by  study,  and  also  by 
faith,  as  thou  hast  said  ;  and  that  they  may  grow  up 
in  thee,  and  receive  a  fullness  of  the  Holy  Ghost 
and  be  organized  according  to  thy  laws,  and  be  pre- 
pared to  obtain  every  needful  thing  ;  and  that  this 
house  may  be  a  house  of  prayer,  a  house  of  fasting, 
a  house  of  faith,  a  house  of  glory  and  of  God,  even 
thy  house  ;  that  all  the  incomings  of  thy  people, 
into  this  house,  may  be  in  the  name  of  the  Lord  ; 
that  all  the  outgoings  from  this  house  may  be  in  the 
name  of  the  Lord  ;  arid  that  all  their  salutations 
may  be  in  the  name  of  the  Lord,  with  holy  hands, 
uplifted  to  the  Most  High  ;  and  that  no  unclean 
thing  shall  be  permitted  to  come  into  thy  house  to 
pollute  it  ;  and  when  thy  people  transgress,  any 
of  them,  they  may  speedily  repent,  and  return  unto 
thee,  and  find  favor  in  thy  sight,  and  be  restored  to 
the  blessings  which  thou  hast  ordained  to  be  poured 
out  upon  those  who  shall  reverence  thee  in  thy 


THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM.  89 

house.  And  we  ask  thee,  Holy  Father,  that  thy 
servants  may  go  forth  from  this  house,  armed  with 
thy  power,  and  thy  name  may  be  upon  them,  and 
thy  glory  be  round  about  them,  and  thine  angels 
have  charge  over  them;  and  from  this  place  they 
may  bear  exceedingly  great  and  glorious  tidings,  in 
truth,  unto  the  ends  of  the  earth,  that  they  may 
know  that  this  is  thy  work,  and  that  thou  hast  put 
forth  thy  hand,  to  fulfill  that  which  thou  hast  spoken 
by  the  mouths  of  the  prophets,  concerning  the  last 
days.  We  ask  thee,  Holy  Father,  to  establish  the 
people  that  shall  worship  and  honorably  hold  a 
name  and  standing  in  this  thy  house,  to  all  genera- 
tions, and  for  eternity,  that  no  weapon  formed  against 
them  shall  prosper ;  that  he  who  diggeth  a  pit  for 
them  shall  fall  into  the  same  himself;  that  no  com- 
bination of  wickedness  shall  have  power  to  rise  up 
and  prevail  over  thy  people  upon  whom  thy  name 
shall  be  put  in  this  house ;  and  if  any  people  shall 
rise  against  this  people,  that  thy  anger  be  kindled 
against  them,  and  if  they  shall  smite  this  people 
thou  wilt  smite  them,  thou  wilt  fight  for  thy  people 
as  thou  didst  in  the  day  of  battle,  that  they  may 
be  delivered  from  the  hands  of  all  their  enemies. 

"  We  ask  thee,  Holy  Father,  to  confound,  and  as- 
tonish, and  to  bring  to  shame  and  confusion,  all" 
those  who  have  spread  lying  reports  abroad,  over 
the  world,  against  thy  servant,  or  servants,  if  they 
will  not  repent  when  the  everlasting  gospel  shall  be 
proclaimed  in  their  ears,  and  that  all  their  works 
may  be  brought  to  naught,  and  be  swept  away  by, 
the  hail,  and  by  the  judgments  which  thou  wilt  send 
upon  them  in  thy  anger,  that  there  may  be  an  end 
to  lyings  and  slanders  against  thy  people  ;  for  thou 
knowest,  O  Lord,  that  thy  servants  have  been  inno- 
cent before  thee  in  bearing  record  of  thy  name,  for 
which  they  have  suffered  these  things  ;  therefore  we 
ptead  before  thee  a  full  and  complete  deliverance 
from  under  this  yoke  ;  break  it  off,  O  Lord  ;  break 


90  THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM. 

it  off  from  the  necks  of  thy  servants,  by  thy  power, 
that  we  may  rise  up  in  the  midst  of  this  generation 
and  do  thy  work. 

"  O  Jehovah,  have  mercy  on  this  people,  and  as 
all  men  sin,  forgive  the  transgressions  of  thy  people, 
and  let  them  be  blotted  out  forever.  Let  the  anoint- 
ing of  thy  ministers  be  sealed  upon  them  with  power 
from  on  high  ;  let  it  be  fulfilled  upon  them  as  upon 
those  on  the  day  of  pentecost ;  let  the  gift  of  tongues 
be  poured  out  upon  thy  people,  even  cloven  tongues 
as  of  fire,  and  the  interpretation  thereof,  and  let  thy 
house  be  filled,, as  with  a  rushing  mighty  wind,  with 
thy  glory.  Put  upon  thy  servants  the  testimony  of 
the  covenant,  that  when  they  go  out  and  proclaim 
thy  word,  they  may  seal  up  the  law,  and  prepare  the 
hearts  of  thy  saints  for  all  those  judgments  thou 
art  about  to  send,  in  thy  wrath,  upon  the  inhabi- 
tants of  the  earth,  because  of  their  transgressions ; 
that  thy  people  may  not  faint  in  the  day  of  trouble. 
And  whatsoever  city  thy  servants  shall  enter,  and 
the  people  of  that  city  receive  their  testimony,  let 
thy  peace  and  thy  salvation  be  upon  that  city,  that 
they  may  gather  out  of  that  city  the  righteous,  that 
they  may  come  forth  to  Zion,  or  to  her  stakes,  the 
places  of  thy  appointment,  with  songs  of  everlast- 
ing joy;  and  until  this  be  accomplished,  let  not  thy 
judgments  fall  upon  this  city.  And  whatsoever  city 
thy  servants  shall  enter,  and  the  people  of  that  city 
receive  not  the  testimony  of  thy  servants,  and  thy 
servants  warn  them  to  save  themselves  from  this 
untoward  generation,  let  it  be  upon  that  city  accord- 
ing to  that  which  thou  hast  spoken  by  the  mouths 
of  thy  prophets  ;  but  deliver  thou,  O  Jehovah,  we 
beseech  thee,  thy  servants  from  their  hands,  and 
cleanse  them  from  their  blood.  O  Lord,  we  delight 
not  in  the  destruction  of  our  fellow  men  !  Their 
souls  are  precious  before  thee  ;  but  thy  word  must 
be  fulfilled;  help  thy  servants  to  say,  with  thy  grace 
assisting  them,  thy  will  be  done,  O  Lord,  and  not 


THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM.  91 

ours.  We  know  that  thou  hast  spoken  by  the 
mouth  of  thy  prophets  terrible  things  concerning 
the  wicked,  in  the  last  days — that  thou  wilt  pour  out 
thy  judgments  without  measure  ;  therefore,  O  Lord, 
deliver  thy  people  from  the  calamity  of  the  wicked ; 
enable  thy  servants  to  seal  up  the  law,  and  bind  up 
the  testimony,  that  they  may  be  prepared  against 
the  day  of  burning.  We  ask  thee,  Holy  Father,  to 
remember  those  who  have  been  driven  (by  the  in- 
habitants of  Jackson  county,  Missouri),  from  the 
lands  of  their  inheritance,  and  break  off,  O  Lord, 
this  yoke  of  affliction  that  has  been  put  upon  them. 
Thou  knowest,  O  Lord,  that  they  have  been  greatly 
oppressed  and  afflicted  by  wicked  men,  and  our 
hearts  flow  out  with  sorrow,  because  of  their  griev- 
ous burdens.  O  Lord,  how  long  wilt  thou  suffer 
this  people  to  bear  this  affliction,  and  the  cries  of 
their  innocent  ones  to  ascend  up  in  thine  ears,  and 
their  blood  come  up  in  testimony  before  thee,  and 
not  make  a  display  of  thy  testimony  in  their  behalf? 
Have  mercy,  O  Lord,  upon  that  wicked  mob,  who 
have  driven  thy  people,  that  they  may  cease  to  spoil, 
that  they  may  repent  of  their  sins,  if  repentance  is 
to  be  found ;  but  if  they  will  not,  make  bare  thine 
arm,  O  Lord,  and  redeem  that  which  thou  didst 
appoint  a  Zion  unto  thy  people. 

"  And  if  it  cannot  be  otherwise,  that  the  cause  of 
thy  people  may  not  fail  before  thee,  may  thine  anger 
be  kindled,  and  thine  indignation  fall  upon  them, 
that  they  may  be  wasted  away,  both  root  and  branch, 
from  under  heaven ;  but  inasmuch  as  they  will  re- 
pent, thou  art  gracious  and  merciful,  and  wilt  turn 
away  thy  wrath,  when  thou  lookest  upon  the  face  of 
thine  anointed.  Have  mercy,  O  Lord,  upon  all  the 
nations  of  the  earth  ;  have  mercy  upon  the  rulers  of 
our  land ;  may  those  principles  which  were  so  hon- 
orably and  nobly  defended,  viz.:  the  constitution  of 
our  land,  by  our  fathers,  be  established  forever. 
Remember  the  kings,  the  princes,  the  nobles,  and 


92  THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM. 

the  great  ones  of  the  earth,  and  all  people,  and  the 
churches,  all  the  poor,  the  needy  and  afflicted  ones  of 
the  earth,  that  their  hearts  may  be  softened,  when  thy 
servants  shall  go  out  from  thy  house,  O  Jehovah, 
to  bear  testimony  of  thy  name,  that  their  prejudices 
may  give  way  before  the  truth,  and  thy  people  may 
obtain  favor  in  the  sight  of  all,  that  all  the  ends  of 
the  earth  may  know  that  we  thy  servants  have  heard 
thy  voice,  and  that  thou  hast  sent  us  ;  that  from  all 
these,  thy  servants,  the  sons  of  Jacob,  may  gather 
out  the  righteous  to  build  a  holy  city  to  thy  name, 
as  thou  hast  commanded  them.  We  ask  thee  to 
appoint  unto  Zion  other  stakes,  besides  this  one 
which  thou  hast  appointed,  that  the  gathering  of  thy 
people  may  roll  on  in  great  power  and  majesty,  that 
thy  work  may  be  cut  short  in  righteousness.  Now 
these  words,  O  Lord,  we  have  spoken  before  thee, 
concerning  the  revelations  and  commandments 
which  thou  hast  given  unto  us,  who  are  identified 
with  the  Gentiles ;  but  thou  knowest  that  thou  hast 
a  great  love  for  the  children  of  Jacob,  who  have 
been  scattered  upon  the  mountains,  for  a  long  time, 
in  a  cloudy  and  dark  day ;  we  therefore  ask  thee  to 
have  mercy  upon  the  children  of  Jacob,  that  Jeru- 
salem, from  this  hour,  may  begin  to  be  redeemed, 
and  the  yoke  of  bondage  begin  to  be  broken  oft 
from  the  house  of  David,  and  the  children  of  Judah 
may  begin  to'  return  to  the  lands  which  thou  didst 
give  to  Abraham,  their  father ;  and  cause  that  the 
remnants  of  Jacob,  who  have  been  cursed  and  smit- 
ten, because  of  their  transgressions,  be  converted 
from  their  wild  and  savage  condition,  to  the  fullness 
of  the  everlasting  gospel,  that  they  may  lay  down 
their  weapons  of  bloodshed,  and  cease  their  rebel- 
lions ;  and  may  all  the  scattered  remnants  of  Israel, 
who  have  been  driven  to  the  ends  of  the  earth, 
come  to  a  knowledge  of  the  truth,  believe  in  the 
Messiah,  and  be  redeemed  from  oppression,  and 
rejoice  before  thee.  O  Lord,  remember  thy  servant, 


THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM.  93 

Joseph  Smith,  Jr.,  and  all  his  afflictions  and  perse- 
cutions, how  he  has  covenanted  with  Jehovah,  and 
vowed  to  thee,  O  mighty  God  of  Jacob,  and  the 
commandments  which  thou  hast  given  unto  him, 
and  that  he  hath  sincerely  striven  to  do  thy  will. 
Have  mercy,  O  Lord,  upon  his  wife  and  children, 
that  they  may  be  exalted  in  thy  presence,  and  pre- 
served by  thy  fostering  hand  ;  have  mercy  upon  all 
their  immediate  connections,  that  their  prejudices 
may  be  broken  up,  and  swept  away  as  with  a  flood, 
that  they  may  be  converted  and  redeemed  with 
Israel,  and  know  that  thou  art  God.  Remember, 
O  Lord,  the  presidents,  even  all  the  presidents  of 
thy  church,  that  thy  right  hand  may  exalt  them, 
with  all  their  families,  and  their  immediate  connec- 
tions, that  their  names  may  be  perpetuated,  and 
had  in  everlasting  remembrance,  from  generation 
to  generation.  Remember  all  thy  church,  O  Lord, 
with  all  their  families,  and  all  their  immediate 
connections,  with  all  their  sick  and  afflicted  ones, 
with  all  the  poor  and  meek  of  the  earth,  that 
the  kingdom  which  thou  hast  set  up  without 
hands,  may  become  a  great  mountain,  and  fill 
the  whole  earth  ;  that  thy  church  may  come  forth 
out  of  the  wilderness  of  darkness,  and  shine  forth 
fair  as  the  moon,  clear  as  the  sun,  and  terrible 
as  an  army  with  banners,  and  be  adorned  as  a 
bride  for  that  day  when  thou  shalt  unveil  the 
heavens,  and  cause  the  mountains  to  flow  down  at 
thy  presence,  and  the  valleys  to  be  exalted,  the 
rough  places  made  smooth  ;  that  thy  glory  may  fill 
the  earth,  that  when  the  trump  shall  sound  for  the 
dead,  we  shall  be  caught  up  in  the  cloud  to  meet 
thee,  that  we  may  ever  be  with  the  Lord,  that  our 
garments  may  be  pure,  that  we  may  be  clothed  upon 
with  robes  of  righteousness,  with  palms  in  our  hands, 
and  crowns  of  glory  upon  our  heads,  and  reap  eter- 
nal joy  for  all  our  sufferings. 

"  O   Lord   God  Almighty,  hear  us  in   these  peti- 


94  THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM. 

tions,  and  answer  us  from  heaven,  thy  holy  habita- 
tion, where  thou  sittest  enthroned,  with  glory,  honor, 
power,  majesty,  might,  dominion,  truth,  justice,  judg- 
ment, mercy,  and  an  infinity  of  fullness,  from  ever- 
lasting to  everlasting.  O  hear,  O  hear,  O  hear  us, 
O  Lord,  and  answer  these  petitions,  and  accept  the 
dedication  of  this  house  unto  thee,  the  work  of  our 
hands,  which  we  have  built  unto  thy  name  !  And 
also  this  church,  to  put  upon  it  thy  name  ;  and  help 
us  by  the  power  of  thy  spirit,  that  we  may  mingle 
our  voices  with  those  bright  shining  seraphs  around 
thy  throne,  with  acclamations  of  praise,  singing 
hosanna  to  God  and  the  Lamb ;  and  let  these  thine 
anointed  ones  be  clothed  with  salvation,  and  thy 
saints  shout  aloud  for  joy.  Amen,  and  amen." 

The  choir  then  sang,  "  The  spirit  of  God  like  a 
fire  is  burning,"  etc.,  after  which  the  Lord's  supper 
was  administered  to  the  whole  assembly.  Then 
President  Joseph  Smith  bore  testimony  of  his  mis- 
sion and  of  the  ministration  of  angels,  and,  after 
testimonials  and  exhortations  by  other  elders,  he 
blest  the  congregation  in  the  name  of  the  Lord. 

Thus  ended  the  ceremonies  of  the  dedication  or 
the  first  temple  built  by  special  command  of  the 
Most  High,  in  this  dispensation. 

One  striking  feature  of  the  ceremonies,  was  the 
grand  shout  of  hosanna,  which  was  given  by  the 
whole  assembly,  in  standing  position,  with  uplifted 
hands.  The  form  of  the  shout  is  as  follows  :  ''Ho- 
sanna— hosanna — hosanna — to  God  and  the  Lamb 
— amen — amen,  and  amen."  The  foregoing  was 
deliberately  and  emphatically  pronounced,  and  three 
times  repeated,  and  with  such  power  as  seemed 
almost  sufficient  to  raise  the  roof  from  the  building. 

A  singular  incident  in  connection  with  this  shout 


THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM.  95 

may  be  discredited  by  some,  but  it  is  verily  true. 
A  notice  had  been  circulated  that  children  in  arms 
would  not  be  admitted  at  the  dedication  of  the  tem- 
ple. A  sister  who  had  come  a  long  distance  with 
her  babe,  six  weeks  old,  having,  on  her  arrival,  heard 
of  the  above  requisition,  went  to  the  patriarch 
Joseph  Smith,  Sr.,  in  great  distress,  saying  that  she 
knew  no  one  with  whom  she  could  leave  her  infant; 
and  to  be  deprived  of  the  privilege  of  attending  the 
dedication  seemed  more  than  she  could  endure.  The 
ever  generous  and  kind-hearted  father  volunteered 
to  take  the  responsibility  on  himself,  and  told  her 
to  take  her  child,  at  the  same  time  giving  the  mother 
a  promise  that  her  babe  should  make  no  disturb- 
ance ;  and  the  promise  was  verified.  But  when  the 
congregation  shouted  hosanna,  that  babe  joined  in 
the  shout.  As  marvelous  as  that  incident  may  ap- 
pear to  many,  it  is  not  more  so  than  other  occur- 
rences on  that  occasion. 

The  ceremonies  of  that  dedication  may  be  re- 
hearsed, but  no  mortal  language  can  describe  the 
heavenly  manifestations  of  that  memorable  day. 
Angels  appeared  to  some,  while  a  sense  of  divine 
presence  was  realized  by  all  present,  and  each  heart 
was  filled  with  "joy  inexpressible  and  full  of  glory." 


CHAPTER   XIII. 

THE    ANCIENT    ORDER    OF    BLESSINGS THE    PROPHET'S 

FATHER THE  PATRIARCH^  MOTHER HIS  FATHER 

KIRTLAND    HIGH    SCHOOL APOSTASY    AND    PER- 
SECUTION  EXODUS    OF    THE    CHURCH. 

Concerning  affairs  at  Kirtland  subsequent  to  the 
dedication  of  the  temple,  and  people  and  incidents 
of  those  times,  Eliza  R.  Snow  continues :  With 
the  restoration  of  the  fullness  of  the  gospel  came 
also  the  ancient  order  of  patriarchal  blessings. 
Each  father,  holding  the  priesthood,  stands  as  a 
patriarch,  at  the  head  of  his  family,  with  invested 
right  and  power  to  bless  his  household,  and  to  pre- 
dict concerning  the  future,  on  the  heads  of  his  chil- 
dren, as  did  Jacob  of  old. 

Inasmuch  as  many  fathers  have  died  without 
having  conferred  those  blessings,  God,  in  the  order 
of  his  kingdom,  has  made  provisions  to  supply  the 
deficiency,  by  choosing  men  to  officiate  as  patriarchs, 
whose  province  it  is  to  bless  the  fatherless.  Joseph 
Smith,  Sr.,  was  ordained  to  this  office,  and  held  the 
position  of  first  patriarch  in  the  church.  He  was 
also,  by  appointment,  president  of  the  Kirtland 
stake  of  Zion,  consequently  the  first  presiding  officer 
in  all  general  meetings  for  worship. 

A  few  words  descriptive  of  this  noble  man  may 


THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM.  97 

not  be  deemed  amiss  in  this  connection.  Of  a  fine 
physique,  he  was  more  than  ordinarily  prepossessing 
in  personal  appearance.  His  kind,  affable,  dignified 
and  unassuming  manner  naturally  inspired  strangers 
with  feelings  of  love  and  reverence.  To  me  he  was 
the  veritable  personification  of  my  idea  of  the 
ancient  Father  Abraham. 

In  his  decisions  he  was  strictly  just ;  what  can  be 
said  of  very  few,  may  be  truly  said  of  him,  in  judging 
between  man  and  man  :  his  judgment  could  not  be 
biased  by  either  personal  advantage,  sympathy,  or 
affection.  Such  a  man  was  worthy  of  being  the 
father  of  the  first  prophet  of  the  last  dispensation  ; 
while  his  amiable  and  affectionate  consort,  Mother 
Lucy  Smith,  was  as  worthy  of  being  the  mother. 
Of  her  faith,  faithfulness  and  untiring  efforts  in 
labors  of  love  and  duty,  until  she  was  broken  down 
by  the  weight  of  years  and  sorrow,  too  much  cannot 
be  said. 

I  was  present,  on  the  1 7th  of  May,  when  a  mes- 
senger arrived  and  informed  the  prophet  Joseph 
that  his  grandmother,  Mary  Duty  Smith,  had  arrived 
at  Fairport,  on  her  way  to  Kirtland,  and  wished  him 
to  come  for  her.  The  messenger  stated  that  she 
said  she  had  asked  the  Lord  that  she  might  live  to 
see  her  children  and  grandchildren  once  more.  The 
prophet  responded  with  earnestness,  "  I  wish  she 
had  set  the  time  longer."  I  pondered  in  silence 
over  this  remark,  thinking  there  might  be  more 
meaning  in  the  expression  than  the  words  indicated, 
which  was  proven  by  the  result,  for  she  only  lived 
a  few  days  after  her  arrival.  She  was  in  the  ninety- 
fourth  year  of  her  age — in  appearance  not  over 

7 


98  THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM. 

seventy-five.  She  had  not  been  baptized,  on  account 
of  the  opposition  of  her  oldest  son,  Jesse,  who  was 
a  bitter  enemy  to  the  work.  She  said  to  Mother 
Lucy  Smith,  "  I  am  going  to  have  your  Joseph  bap- 
tize me,  and  my  Joseph  (the  patriarch)  bless  me." 

Her  husband,  Israel  Smith,  died  in  St.  Lawrence 
county,  New  York,  after  having  received  the  Book 
of  Mormon,  and  read  it  nearly  through.  He  had, 
long  before,  predicted  that  a  prophet  would  be  raised 
up  in  his  family,  and  was  satisfied  that  his  grandson 
was  that  prophet.  The  venerable  widow  was  also 
well  assured  of  the  fact. 

The  next  day  after  her  arrival  at  the  house  of  the 
prophet,  where  she  was  welcomed  with  every  man- 
ifestation of  kindness  and  affection,  her  children, 
grandchildren  and  great-grandchildren — all  who 
were  residents  of  Kirtland,  and  two  of  her  sons, 
who  arrived  with  her — came  together  to  enjoy  with 
her  a  social  family  meeting ;  and  a  happy  one  it 
was — a  season  of  pure  reciprocal  conviviality,  in 
which  her  buoyancy  of  spirit  greatly  augmented  the 
general  joy.  Let  the  reader  imagine  for  a  moment 
this  aged  matron,  surrounded  by  her  four  sons, 
Joseph,  Asael,  Silas  and  John,  all  of  them,  as  well 
as  several  of  her  grandsons,  upwards  of  six  feet  in 
height,  with  a  score  of  great-grandchildren  of  va- 
rious sizes  intermixed  ;  surely  the  sight  was  not  an 
uninteresting  one.  To  her  it  was  very  exciting— 
too  much  so  for  her  years.  Feverish  symptoms, 
which  were  apparent  on  the  following  day,  indicated 
that  her  nervous  system  had  been  overtaxed.  She 
took  her  bed,  and  survived  but  a  f  :\v  days.  I  was 
with  her,  and  saw  her  calmly  fall  asleep.  About  ten 


THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM.  99 

minutes  before  she  expired,  she  saw  a  group  of  angels 
in  the  room  ;  and  pointing  towards  them  she  ex- 
claimed, "  O,  how  beautiful !  but  they  do  not  speak." 
It  would  seem  that  they  were  waiting  to  escort  her 
spirit  to  its  bright  abode. 

But  to  return  to  the  temple.  After  its  dedication, 
the  "  Kirtland  High  School"  was  taught  in  the  attic 
story,  by  H.  M.  Hawes,  professor  of  Greek  and 
Latin.  The  school  numbered  from  one  hundred 
and  thirty  to  one  hundred  and  forty  students,  divided 
into  three  departments — the  classics,  where  only 
languages  were  taught ;  the  English  department, 
where  mathematics,  common  arithmetic,  geography, 
English  grammar,  reading  and  writing  were  taught; 
and  the  juvenile  department.  The  two  last  were 
under  assistant  instructors.  The  school  was  com- 
menced in  November,  1836,  and  the  progress  of  the 
several  classes,  on  examinations  before  trustees  of 
the  school,  parents  and  guardians,  was  found  to  be 
of  the  highest  order. 

Not  only  did  the  Almighty  manifest  his  accept- 
ance of  that  house,  at  its  dedication,  but  an  abiding 
holy  heavenly  influence  was  realized  ;  and  many 
extraordinary  manifestations  of  his  power  were 
experienced  on  subsequent  occasions.  Not  only 
were  angels  often  seen  within,  but  a  pillar  of  light 
was  several  times  seen  resting  down  upon  the 
roof. 

Besides  being  devoted  to  general  meetings  for 
worship  and  the  celebration  of  the  Lord's  Supper 
every  first  day  of  the  week,  the  temple  was  occupied 
by  crowded  assemblies  on  the  first  Thursday  in  each 
month,  that  day  being  observed  strictly,  by  the 


IOO  THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM. 

Latter-day  Saints,  as  a  day  of  fasting  and  prayer. 
These,  called  fast-meetings,  were  hallowed  and  in- 
teresting beyond  the  power  of  language  to  describe. 
Many,  many  were  the  pentecostal  seasons  of  the 
outpouring  of  the  spirit  of  God  on  those  days,  man- 
ifesting the  gifts  of  the  gospel  and  the  power  of 
healing,  prophesying,  speaking  in  tongues,  the  in- 
terpretation of  tongues,  etc.  I  have  there  seen  the 
lame  man,  on  being  administered  to,  throw  aside 
his  crutches  and  walk  home  perfectly  healed ;  and 
not  only  were  the  lame  made  to  walk,  but  the  blind 
to  see,  the  deaf  to  hear,  the  dumb  to  speak,  and 
evil  spirits  to  depart. 

On  those  fast  days,  the  curtains,  or  veils,  men- 
tioned in  a  preceding  chapter,  which  intersected  at 
right  angles,  were  dropped,  dividing  the  house  into 
four  equal  parts.  Each  of  these  sections  had  a 
presiding  officer,  and  the  meeting  in  each  section 
was  conducted  as  though  no  other  were  in  the 
building,  which  afforded  opportunity  for  four  per- 
sons to  occupy  the  same  time.  These  meetings 
commenced  early  in  the  day  and  continued  without 
intermission  till  four  P.  M.  One  hour  previous  to 
dismissal,  the  veils  were  drawn  up  and  the  four  con- 
gregations brought  together,  and  the  people  who,  in 
the  forepart  of  the  day  were  instructed  to  spend 
much  of  the  time  in  prayer,  and  to  speak,  sing  and 
pray,  mostly  in  our  own  language,  lest  a  spirit  of 
enthusiasm  should  creep  in,  were  permitted,  after 
the  curtains  were  drawn,  to  speak  or  sing  in  tongues, 
prophesy,  pray,  interpret  tongues,  exhort  or  preach, 
however  they  might  feel  moved  upon  to  do.  Then 
the  united  faith  of  the  saints  brought  them  into 


THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM.  IOI 

close  fellowship  with  the  spirits  of  the  just,  and  earth 
and  heaven  seemed  in  close  proximity. 

On  fast  days,  Father  Smith's  constant  practice 
was  to  repair  to  the  temple  very  early,  and  offer  up 
his  prayers  before  sunrise,  and  there  await  the  com- 
ing of  the  people  ;  and  so  strictly  disciplined  himself 
in  the  observance  of  fasting,  as  not  even  to  wet  his 
lips  with  water  until  after  the  dismissal  of  the  meet- 
ing at  four  P.  M.  One  morning,  when  he  opened  meet- 
ing, he  prayed  fervently  that  the  spirit  of  the  Most 
High  might  be  poured  out  as  it  was  at  Jerusalem,  on 
the  day  of  pentecost — that  it  might  come  "  like  a 
mighty  rushing  wind."  It  was  not  long  before  it  did 
come,  to  the  astonishment  of  all,  and  filled  the 
house.  It  appeared  as  though  the  old  gentleman 
had  forgotten  what  he  had  prayed  for.  When  it 
came,  he  was  greatly  surprised,  and  exclaimed, 
"What!  is  the  house  on  fire?" 

While  the  faithful  saints  were  enjoying  those  su- 
pernal privileges,  "  the  accuser  of  the  brethren  "  did 
not  sleep.  Apostasy,  with  its  poisonous  fangs,  crept 
into  the  hearts  of  some  who  but  a  few  months  before 
were  in  quorum  meetings,  when  heavenly  hosts 
appeared  ;  and  where,  in  all  humility  of  soul,  they 
united  with  their  brethren  in  sublime  shouts  of 
hosanna  to  God  and  the  Lamb.  And  now,  full  of 
pride  and  self-conceit,  they  join  hands  with  our 
enemies  and  take  the  lead  in  mobocracy  against  the 
work  which  they  had  advocated  with  all  the  energies 
of  their  souls. 

What  a  strange  and  fearful  metamorphosis  !  How 
suddenly  people  become  debased  when,  having 
grieved  away  the  spirit  of  God,  the  opposite  takes 


IO2  THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMON  DOM. 

possession  of  their  hearts !  We  read  that  angels 
have  fallen,  and  that  one  of  our  Saviour's  chosen 
twelve  was  Judas,  the  traitor.  Inasmuch  as  the 
same  causes  produce  the  same  effects  in  all  ages,  it 
is  no  wonder  that  Joseph  Smith,  in  introducing  the 
same  principles,  should  have  to  suffer  what  was  to 
the  philosophic  Paul  the  greatest  of  all  trials — that 
among  false  brethren. 

Illegal,  vexatious  lawsuits,  one  after  another,  were 
successively  instituted,  and  the  leading  officers  of  the 
church  dragged  into  court,  creating  great  annoyance 
and  expenditure.  This  not  being  sufficient  to  satisfy 
the  greed  of  persecution,  the  lives  of  some  of  the 
brethren  were  sought,  and  they  left  Kirtland,  and 
sought  safety  in  the  West. 

At  this  time  my  father  was  residing  one  mile 
south  of  the  temple.  About  twelve  o'clock  one 
bitter  cold  night  he  was  startled  by  a  knock  at  the 
door,  and  who  should  enter  but  Father  Smith,  the 
patriarch  !  A  State's  warrant  had  been  served 
on  him  for  an  alleged  crime,  and  the  officer  in  whose 
custody  he  was  placed,  although  an  enemy  to  the 
church,  knowing  the  old  gentleman  to  be  innocent, 
had  preconcerted  a  stratagem  by  which  he  had  been 
let  down  from  a  window  in  the  room  to  which  he 
had  taken  him,  ostensibly  for  private  consultation 
but  purposely  to  set  him  at  liberty,  having  pre- 
viously prepared  a  way  by  which  he  could  reach  the 
ground  uninjured.  He  also  told  him  where  to  go 
for  safety,  directing  him  to  my  father's  house.  The 
officer  returned  to  the  court-room  as  though  Father 
Smith  followed  in  the  rear,  when,  on  a  sudden,  he 
looked  back,  and  not  seeing  his  prisoner,  he  hurried 


THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM.  103 

back  to  the  private  room,  examining  every  point, 
and  returned  in  great  apparent  amazement  and  con- 
fusion, declaring  that  the  prisoner  had  gone  in  an 
unaccountable  manner,  saying,  ludicrously,  "  This, 
o-entlemen,  is  another  Mormon  miracle."  No  vig- 
orous search  was  made — all  must  have  been  con- 
vinced that  the  proceedings  were  as  unjust  as  illegal. 
To  return  to  my  father's  house :  We  were  proud  of 
our  guest,  and  all  of  the  family  took  pleasure  in 
anticipating  and  supplying  his  wants.  He  remained 
with  us  two  weeks,  and  in  the  meantime  settled  up 
all  his  business  matters,  and,  having  been  joined 
by  his  youngest  son,  Don  Carlos,  and  five  other 
brethren,  whose  lives  had  been  threatened,  he  bade 
a  final  adieu  to  Kirtland,  at  one  hour  past  midnight, 
on  the  2ist  of  December,  1837.  The  night  was 
intensely  cold,  but,  as  they  had  no  conveyance  except 
one  horse,  they  had  sufficient  walking  exercise  to 
prevent  freezing.  They  found  a  few  Latter-day 
Saints  in  a  southern  county  of  Ohio,  where  they 
stayed  till  spring,  when  they  left  for  Missouri. 

The  pressure  of  opposition  increased,  and  before 
spring  the  prophet  and  his  brother  Hyrum  had  to 
leave  ;  and,  in  the  spring  and  summer  of  1838,  the 
most  of  the  church  followed ;  leaving  our  homes, 
and  our  sacred,  beautiful  temple,  the  sanctuary  of 
the  Lord  God  of  Hosts. 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

> 

•: 

AN    ILLUSTRIOUS    MORMON    WOMAN THE    FIRST    WIFE 

OF    THE    IMMORTAL    HEBER    C.    KIMBALL OPENING 

CHAPTER     OF      HER     AUTOBIOGRAPHY HER     WON- 
DERFUL   VISION AN     ARMY    OF     ANGELS     SEEN    IN 

THE    HEAVENS. 

One  of  the  very  queens  of  Mormondom,  and  a 
woman  beloved  by  the  whole  church,  during  her 
long  eventful  lifetime,  was  the  late  Vilate  Kimball. 
To-day  she  sleeps  by  the  side  of  her  great  husband, 
for  Heber  C.  Kimball  was  one  of  the  world's  re- 
markable men.  He  soon  followed  her  to  the  grave; 
a  beautiful  example  she  of  the  true  love  existing 
between  two  kindred  souls  notwithstanding  poly- 
gamy. Her  sainted  memory  is  enshrined  in  the 
hearts  of  her  people,  and  ever  will  be  as  long  as  the 
record  of  the  sisters  endures. 

"  My  maiden  name,"  she  says,  in  her  autobiogra- 
phy, "  was  Vilate  Murray.  I  am  the  youngest 
"  daughter  of  Roswell  and  Susannah  Murray.  I 
"was  born  in  Florida,  Montgomery  county,  New 
"York,  June  ist,  1806.  I  was  married  to  Heber 
"Chase  Kimball  November  7,  1822,  having  lived 
"until  that  time  with  my  parents  in  Victor,  Ontario 
"  county. 


THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM.  105 

"  After  marriage  my  husband  settled  in  Mendon, 
"  Monroe  county.  Here  we  resided  until  we  gath- 
"  ered  in  Kirtland  in  the  fall  of  1833. 

"  About  three  weeks  before  we  heard  of  the  latter- 
-day work  we  were  baptized  into  the  Baptist 
"  Church. 

"  Five  eldei^  of  the  Church  of  Latter-day  Saints 
"  came  to  the  town  of  Victor,  which  was  five  miles 
"  from  Mendon,  and  stopped  at  the  house  of  Phineas 
"Young,  the  brother  of  Brigham.  Their  names 
"  were  Eleazer  Miller,  Elial  Strong,  Alpheus  Gifford, 
"  Enos  Curtis  and  Daniel  Bowen. 

"  Hearing  of  these  men,  curiosity  prompted  Mr. 
"  Kimball  to  go  and  see  them.  Then  for  the  first 
"  time  he  heard  the  fullness  of  the  everlasting  gospel 
"  and  was  convinced  of  its  truth.  Brigham  Young 
"  was  with  him. 

"  At  their  meetings  Brigham  and  Heber  saw  the 
"  manifestations  of  the  spirit  and  heard  the  gift  of 
"  speaking  and  singing  in  tongues.  They  were  con- 
"  strained  by  the  spirit  to  bear  testimony  to  the 
"  truth,  and  when  they  did  this  the  power  of  God 
"  rested  upon  them. 

"  Desiring  to  hear  more  of  the  saints,  in  January, 
"  1832,  Heber  took  his  horses  and  sleigh  and  started 
"  for  Columbia,  Bradford  county,  Penn.,  a  distance 
"  of  one  hundred  and  twenty-five  miles.  Brigham 
"and  Phineas  Young  and  their  wives  went  with  him. 

"  They  stayed  with  the  church  about  six  days,  saw 
"  the  power  of  God  manifested  and  heard  the  gift  of 
"  tongues,  and  then  returned  rejoicing,  bearing  tes- 
"  timony  to  the  people  by  the  way.  They  were  not 
"  baptized,  however,  until  the  following  spring. 


IO6  THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMON  DOM. 

"  Brigham  was  baptized  on  Sunday,  April  i4th, 
"1832,  by  Eleazer  Miller,  and  Heber  C.  Kimball 
"  was  baptized  the  next  day. 

"  Just  two  weeks  from  that  time  I  was  baptized 
"by  Joseph  Young,  with  several  others. 

"  The  Holy  Ghost  fell  upon  Heber  so  greatly, 
"that  he  said  it  was  like  a  consuming^ fire.  He  felt 
"  as  though  he  was  clothed  in  his  right  mind  and 
"sat  at  the  feet  of  Jesus;  but  the  people  called  him 
"  crazy.  He  continued  thus  for  months,  till  it  seemed 
"  his  flesh  would  consume  away.  The  Scriptures 
"were  unfolded  to  his  mind  in  such  a  wonderful 
"  manner  by  the  spirit  of  revelation  that  he  said  it 
"  seemed  he  had  formerly  been  familiar  with  them. 

"  Brigham  Young  and  his  wife  Miriam,  with  their 
"  two  little  girls,  Elizabeth  and  Vilate,  were  at  the 
"  time  living  at  our  house ;  but  soon  after  her  bap- 
"  tism  Miriam  died.  In  her  expiring  moments,  she 
"  clapped  her  hands  and  praised  the  Lord,  and  called 
"  on  all  around  to  help  her  praise  him  ;  and  when 
"her  voice  was  too  weak  to  be  heard,  her  lips  and 
"  hands  were  seen  moving  until  she  expired. 

"  This  was  another  testimony  to  them  of  the  pow- 
"  erful  effect  of  the  everlasting  gospel,  showing  that 
"we  shall  not  die,  but  will  sleep  and  come  forth  in 
"the  resurrection  and  rejoice  with  her  in  the  flesh. 

"  Her  little  girls  sister  Miriam  left  to  my  care,  and 
"  I  did  all  I  could  to  be  a  mother  to  her  little  ones 
"  to  the  period  of  our  gathering  to  Kirtland,  and 
"the  marriage  of  Brigham  to  Miss  Mary  Ann 
"  Angell. 

"  The  glorious  death  of  sister  Miriam  caused  us 
"  to  rejoice  in  the  midst  of  affliction.  But  enemies 


THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM. 

"  exulted  over  our  loss  and  threw  many  obstacles  in 
"  the  way  of  our  gathering  with  the  saints. 

"  To  my  husband's  great  surprise  some  of  the 
"  neighbors  issued  attachments  against  his  goods ; 
"  yet  he  was  not  indebted  to  any  of  them  to  the 
11  value  of  five  cents,  while  there  were  some  hundreds 
"  of  dollars  due  to  him.  However,  he  left  his  own 
"  debts  uncollected,  settled  their  unjust  claims,  and 
"  gathered  to  Kirtland  with  the  saints  about  the  last 
"of  September,  1832,  in  company  with  Brigham 
"  Young. 

"  Here  I  will  relate  a  marvelous  incident,  of  date 
"  previous  to  our  entering  the  church. 

"On  the  night  of  the  22d  of  September,  1827, 
"  while  living  in  the  town  of  Mendon,  after  we  re- 
"  tired  to  bed,  John  P.  Green,  who  was  then  a  trav- 
"  eling  Reformed  Methodist  preacher,  living  within 
"  one  hundred  steps  of  our  house,  came  and  called 
"  my  husband  to  come  out  and  see  the  sight  in  the 
"  heavens.  Heber  awoke  me,  and  Sister  Fanny 
"  Young  (sister  of  Brigham),  who  was  living  with 
"  us,  and  we  all  went  out  of  doors. 

"  It  was  one  of  the  most  beautiful  starlight  nights, 
"so  clear  we  could  see  to  pickup  a  pin.  We  looked 
11  to  the  eastern  horizon,  and  beheld  a  white  smoke 
"arise  towards  the  heavens.  As  it  ascended,  it 
"  formed  into  a  belt,  and  made  a  noise  like  the  rush- 
"  ing  wind,  and  continued  southwest,  forming  a  reg- 
"  ular  bow,  dipping  in  the  western  horizon. 

"  After  the  bow  had  formed,  it  began  to  widen 
"  out,  growing  transparent,  of  a  bluish  cast.  It  grew 
"wide  enough  to  contain  twelve  men  abreast.  In 
"  this  bow  an  army  moved,  commencing  from  the 


IO8  THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM. 

'east  and  marching  to  the  west.  They  continued 
"  moving  until  they  reached  the  western  horizon. 
"  They  moved  in  platoons,  and  walked  so  close  the 
"  rear  ranks  trod  in  the  steps  of  their  file  leaders,  until 
"  the  whole  bow  was  literally  crowded  with  soldiers. 

"  We  could  distictly  ree  the  muskets,  bayonets 
"  and  knapsacks  of  the  men,  who  wore  caps  and 
"  feathers  like  those  used  by  the  American  soldiers 
"  in  the  last  war  with  Great  Britain.  We  also  saw 
"their  officers  with  their  swords  and  equipage,  and 
"  heard  the  clashing  and  jingling  of  their  instruments 
"  of  war,  and  could  discern  the  form  and  features 
"  of  the  men.  The  most  profound  order  existed 
"  throughout  the  entire  army.  When  the  foremost 
"  man  stepped,  every  man  stepped  at  the  same  time. 
"  We  could  hear  their  steps. 

"  When  the  front  rank  reached  the  western  hori- 
"  zon,  a  battle  ensued,  as  we  could  hear  the  report 
"  of  the  arms,  and  the  rush. 

"None  can  judge  of  our  feelings  as  we  beheld 
"  this  army  of  spirits  as  plainly  as  ever  armies  of 
"  men  were  seen  in  the  flesh.  Every  hair  of  our 
"  heads  seemed  alive. 

"  We  gazed  upon  this  scenery  for  hours,  until  it 
"began  to  disappear. 

"  After  we  became  acquainted  with  Mormonism, 
"we  learned  that  this  took  place  the  same  evening 
"  that  Joseph  Smith  received  the  records  of  the  Book 
"of  Mormon  from  the  angel  Moroni,  who  had  held 
"  those  records  in  his  possession. 

"  Father  Young,  and  John  P.  Green's  wife  (Brig- 
"  ham's  sister  Rhoda),  were  also  witnesses  of  this 
"  marvelous  scene. 


THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM.  109 

"  Frightened  at  what  we  saw,  I  said,  Father  Young, 
"what  does  all  this  mean  ?  He  answered,  Why  it  is 
"  one  of  the  signs  of  the  coming  of  the  Son  of  Man. 

"  The  next  night  a  similar  scene  was  beheld  in 
"  the  west,  by  the  neighbors,  representing  armies  of 
"  men  engaged  in  battle. 

"  After  our  gathering  to  Kirtland  the  church  was 
"  in  a  state  of  poverty  and  distress.  It  appeared 
"  almost  impossible  that  the  commandment  to  build 
"  the  temple  could  be  fulfilled,  the  revelation  requir- 
"  ing  it  to  be  erected  by  a  certain  period. 

"  The  enemies  were  raging,  threatening  destruc- 
tion upon  the  saints;  the  brethren  were  under 
"guard  night  and  day  to  preserve  the  prophet's  life, 
"and  the  mobs  in  Missouri  were  driving  our  people 
"from  Jackson  county. 

"  In  this  crisis  the  '  Camp  of  Zion  '  was  organized 
"  to  go  to  the  defence  of  the  saints  in  Jackson,  Heber 
"  being  one  of  the  little  army.  On  the  5th  of  May, 
"  1834,  they  started.  It  was  truly  a  solemn  morning 
"  on  which  my  husband  parted  from  his  wife,  chil- 
"  dren  and  friends,  not  knowing  that  we  should  ever 
"meet  again  in  the  flesh.  On  the  26th  of  July, 
"  however,  the  brethren  returned  from  their  expe- 
"  dition. 

"  The  saints  now  labored  night  and  day  to  build 
"  the  house  of  the  Lord,  the  sisters  knitting  and 
"  spinning  to  clothe  those  who  labored  upon  it. 

"  When  the  quorum  of  the  twelve  apostles  was 
"  called,  my  husband  was  chosen  one  of  them,  and 
"  soon  he  was  out  with  the  rest  of  the  apostles 
"  preaching  the  gospel  of  the  last  days ;  but  they 
"returned  on  the  27th  of  the  following  September 


I  IO  THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM. 

"and  found  their  families  and  friends  enjoying  good 
"  health  and  prosperity. 

"  The  temple  was  finished  and  dedicated  on  the 
"27th  of  March,  1836.  It  was  a  season  of  great 
"  rejoicing,  indeed,  to  the  saints,  and  great  and  mar- 
"  velous  were  the  manifestations  and  power  in  the 
"  Lord's  house.  Here  I  will  relate  a  vision  of  the 
"  prophet  concerning  the  twelve  apostles  of  this  dis- 
"  pensation,  for  whose  welfare  his  anxiety  had  been 
"  very  great. 

"He  raw  the  twelve  going  forth,  and  they  appeared 
"  to  be  in  a  far  distant  land ;  after  some  time  they 
"  unexpectedly  met  together,  apparently  in  great 
"  tribulation,  their  clothes  all  ragged,  and  their  knees 
"  and  feet  sore.  They  formed  into  a  circle,  and  all 
"  stood  with  their  eyes  fixed  on  the  ground.  The 
"  Saviour  appeared  and  stood  in  their  midst  and 
"wept  over  them,  and  wanted  to  show  himself  to 
"them,  but  they  did  not  discover  him. 

"  He  saw  until  they  had  accomplished  their  work 
"  and  arrived  at  the  gate  of  the  celestial  city.  There 
"  Father  Adam  stood  and  opened  the  gate  to  them, 
"  and  as  they  entered  he  embraced  them  one  by  one, 
"  and  kissed  them.  He  then  led  them  to  the  throne 
"  of  God,  and  then  the  Saviour  embraced  each  of 
"them  in  the  presence  of  God.  He  saw  that  they 
"  all  had  beautiful  heads  of  hair  and  all  looked  alike. 
"The  impression  this  vision  left  on  Brother  Joseph's 
"  mind  was  of  so  acute  a  nature,  that  he  never  could 
"  refrain  from  weeping  while  rehearsing  it. 

"  On  the  loth  of  May,  1836,  my  husband  again 
"went  East  on  a  mission,  and  I  made  a  visit  to  my 
"  friends  in  Victor,  where  Heber  and  I  met,  and  after 


THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM.  Ill 

"spending  a  few  days,  returned  to  Ohio,  journeying 
"  to  Buffalo,  where  a  magistrate  came  forward  and 
"  paid  five  dollars  for  our  passage  to  Fairport. 

"  The  passengers  were  chiefly  Swiss  emigrants. 
"  After  sitting  and  hearing  them  some  time,  the  spirit 
"  of  the  Lord  came  upon  my  husband  so  that  he 
"  was  enabled  to  preach  to  them  in  their  own  lan- 
"  guage>  though  of  himself  he  knew  not  a  word  of 
"  their  language.  They  seemed  much  pleased,  and 
"  treated  him  with  great  kindness. 

"  We  returned  to  Kirtland  to  find  a  spirit  of 
"  speculation  in  the  church,  and  apostacy  growing 
"  among  some  of  the  apostles  and  leading  elders. 
"  These  were  perilous  times  indeed. 

"  In  the  midst  of  this  my  husband  was  called  on 
"his  mission  to  Great  Britain,  this  being  the  first 
"  foreign  mission. 

"  One  day  while  Heber  was  seated  in  the  front 
"stand  in  the  Kirtland  temple,  the  prophet  Joseph 
"  opened  the  door  and  came  and  whispered  in  his 
"  ear,  *  Brother  Heber,  the  spirit  of  the  Lord  has 
"whispered  to  me,  let  my  servant  Heber  go  to 
"  England  and  proclaim  the  gospel,  end  open  the 
"  door  of  salvation.' " 

Here  we  may  digress  a  moment  from  Sister 
Vilate's  story,  to  illustrate  the  view  of  the  apostles 
"  opening  the  door  of  salvation  to  the  nations,"  and 
preaching  the  gospel  in  foreign  lands  without  purse 
or  scrip. 

At  a  later  period  the  Mormon  apostles  and  elders 
have  deemed  it  as  nothing  to  take  missions  to  for- 
eign lands,  but  in  1837,  before  the  age  of  railroads 
and  steamships  had  fairly  come,  going  to  Great 


112  THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM. 

Britain  on  mission  was  very  like  embarking  for 
another  world  ;  and  the  apostolic  proposition  to 
gather  a  people  from  foreign  lands  and  many  nations 
to  form  a  latter-day  Israel,  and  with  these  disciples 
to  build  up  a  Zion  on  this  continent,  was  in  seeming 
the  maddest  undertaking  possible  in  human  events. 
This  marvelous  scheme  of  the  Mormon  prophet, 
with  many  others  equally  bold  and  strangely  un- 
common for  modern  times,  shall  be  fully  treated  in 
the  book  of  his  own  life,  but  it  is  proper  to  throw 
into  prominence  the  wondrous  apostolic  picture  of 
Heber  C.  Kirnball  "  opening  the  door  of  salvation 
to  the  nations  that  sat  in  darkness ;"  and  for  the 
gathering  of  an  Israel  from  every  people  and  from 
every  tongue.  Relative  to  this,  by  far  the  greatest 
event  in'  his  life,  Heber  says,  in  his  family  journals  : 
"  The  idea  of  being  appointed  to  such  an  impor- 
"  tant  mission  was  almost  more  than  I  could  bear 
"  up  under.  I  felt  my  weakness  and  was  nearly 
"  ready  to  sink  under  it,  but  the  moment  I  under- 
41  stood  the  will  of  my  heavenly  Father,  I  felt  a 
"  determination  to  go  at  all  hazards,  believing  that 
"  he  would  support  me  by  his  almighty  power,  and 
"  although  my  family  were  dear  to  me,  and  I  should 
"  have  to  leave  them  almost  destitute,  I  felt  that  the 
"  cause  of  truth,  the  gospel  of  Christ,  outweighed 
"  every  other  consideration.  At  this  time  many  fal- 
"  tered  in  their  faith,  some  of  the  twelve  were  in 
"rebellion  against  the  prophet  of  God.  John 
"  Boynton  said  to  me,  if  you  are  such  a  d — d  fool 
"  as  to  go  at  the  call  of  the  fallen  prophet,  I  will  not 
"  help  you  a  dime,  and  if  you  are  cast  on  Van  Die- 
"  man's  Land  I  will  not  make  an  effort  to  help  you. 


THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM. 

"  Lyman  E.  Johnson  said  he  did  not  want  me  to  go 
"  on  my  mission,  but  if  I  was  determined  to  go,  he 
"  would  help  me  all  he  could  ;  he  took  his  cloak  from 
"  off  his  back  and  put  it  on  mine.  Brother  Sidney 
"  Rigdon,  Joseph  Smith,  Sr.,  Brigham  Young,  Newel 
"  K.  Whitney  and  others  said  go  and  do  as  the  pro- 
"  phet  has  told  you  and  you  shall  prosper  and  be 
"  blessed  with  power  to  do  a  glorious  work.  Hyrum, 
"  seeing  the  condition  of  the  church,  when  he  talked 
"  about  my  mission  wept  like  a  little  child ;  he  was  con- 
"  tinually  blessing  and  encouraging  me,  and  pouring 
"  out  his  soul  in  prophesies  upon  my  head  ;  he  said  go 
"  and  you  shall  prosper  as  not  many  have  prospered." 

"  A  short  time  previous  to  my  husband's  starting," 
continues  Sister  Vilate,  "  he  was  prostrated  on  his 
"  bed  from  a  stitch  in  his  back,  which  suddenly  seized 
"  him  while  chopping  and  drawing  wood  for  his 
"  family,  so  that  he  could  not  stir  a  limb  without 
"  exclaiming,  from  the  severeness  of  the  pain.  Joseph 
"  Smith  hearing  of  it  came  to  see  him,  bringing 
"  Oliver  Cowdery  and  Bishop  Partridge  with  him. 
"They  prayed  for  and  blessed  him,  Joseph  being 
"  mouth,  beseeching  God  to  raise  him  up,  &c.  He 
"  then  took  him  by  the  right  hand  and  said,  '  Brother 
"  Heber,  I  take  you  by  your  right  hand,  in  the  name 
"of  Jesus  Christ  of  Nazareth,  and  by  virtue  of  the 
"holy  priesthood  vested  in  me,  I  command  you,  in 
"the  name  of  Jesus  Christ,  to  rise,  and  be  thou 
"  made  whole.'  He  arose  from  his  bed,  put  on  his 
"  clothes,  and  started  with  them,  and  went  up  to  the 
"  temple,  and  felt  no  more  of  the  pain  afterwards. 

"  At  length  the  day  for  the  departure  of  my  hus- 
"  band  arrived.  It  was  June  I3th,  1837.  He  was 

8 


114  THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM. 

"  in  the  midst  of  his  family,  blessing  them,  when 
"  Brother  R.  B.  Thompson,  who  was  to  accompany 
"him  two  or  three  hundred  miles,  came  in  to  ascer- 
"  tain  when  Heber  would  start.  Brother  Thompson, 
"in  after  years,  writing  an  account  in  Heber's  jour- 
"  nal  of  his  first  mission  to  Great  Britain,  in  its  pre- 
"face  thus  describes  that  solemn  family  scene  :  'The 
"  door  being  partly  open  I  entered  and  felt  struck 
"  with  the  sight  which  presented  itself  to  my  view. 
"  I  would  have  retired,  thinking  I  was  intruding,  but 
"  I  felt  riveted  to  the  spot.  The  father  was  pouring 
"  out  his  soul  to 

That  God  who  rules  on  high, 

Who  all  the  earth  surveys  j 
That  rides  upon  the  stormy  sky, 

And  calms  the  roaring  seas, 

"  that  he  would  grant  unto  him  a  prosperous  voy- 
"  age  across  the  mighty  ocean,  and  make  him  useful 
"  wherever  his  lot  should  be  cast,  and  that  he  who 
"  careth  for  the  sparrows,  and  feedeth  the  young 
"  ravens  when  they  cry,  would  supply  the  wants  of 
"his  wife  and  little  ones  in  his  absence.  He  then, 
"like  the  patriarchs,  and  by  virtue  of  his  office,  laid 
"  his  hands  upon  their  heads  individually,  leaving  a 
"  father's  blessing  upon  them,  and  commending  them 
"  to  the  care  and  protection  of  God,  while  he  should 
"  be  engaged  preaching  the  gospel  in  foreign  lands. 
"  While  thus  engaged  his  voice  was  almost  lost  in 
"  the  sobs  of  those  around,  who  tried  in  vain  to 
"  suppress  them.  The  idea  of  being  separated  from 
"  their  protector  and  father  for  so  long  a  time,  was 
"  indeed  painful.  He  proceeded,  but  his  heart  was 
"  too  much  affected  to  do  so  regularly  ;  -his  emotions 


THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM.  115 

"  were  great,  and  he  was  obliged  to  stop  at  intervals, 
"  while  the  big  tears  rolled  down  his  cheeks,  an 
"  index  to  the  feelings  which  reigned  in  his  bosom. 
"  My  heart  was  not  stout  enough  to  refrain ;  in  spite 
"  of  myself  I  wept  and  mingled  my  tears  with  theirs 
"  at  the  same  time.  I  felt  thankful  that  I  had  the  priv- 
"  ilege  of  contemplating  such  a  scene.  I  realized  that 
"  nothing  could  induce  that  man  to  tear  himself  from 
"  so  affectionate  a  family  group — from  his  partner  and 
"  children  who  were  so  dear  to  him — but  a  sense  of 
"  duty  and  love  to  God  and  attachment  to  his  cause/ 

"  At  nine  o'clock  in  the  morning  of  this  never-to- 
"  be-forgotten-day,"  continues  Sister  Vilate,  "  Heber 
"  bade  adieu  to  his  brethren  and  friends  and  started 
"without  purse  or  scrip  to  preach  the  gospel  in 
"  a  foreign  land.  He  was  accompanied  by  myself  and 
"  children,  and  some  of  the  brethren  and  sisters,  to 
"  Fairport.  Sister  Mary  Fielding,  who  became  after- 
"  wards  the  wife  of  Hyrum  Smith,  gave  him  five 
"  dollars,  with  which  Heber  paid  the  passage  of  him- 
"  self  and  Brother  Hyde  to  Buffalo.  They  were  also 
"  accompanied  by  her  and  Brother  Thompson  and 
"  his  wife  (Mary  Fielding's  sister),  who  were  going 
"  on  a  mission  to  Canada.  Heber  himself  was  ac- 
"  companied  to  Great  Britain  by  Elders  Orson  Hyde, 
"  Willard  Richards,  J.  Goodson  and  J.  Russell,  and 
"  Priest  Joseph  Fielding." 

Here,  for  the  present,  we  must  leave  Brother 
Heber  to  prosecute  his  important  mission,  and  this 
illustrious  woman  to  act  her  part  alone  as  an  apos- 
tle's wife,  while  we  introduce  others  of  the  sisters, 
and  follow  the  church  through  its  scenes  of  persecu- 
tion and  removal  from  Missouri  to  Illinois. 


CHAPTER  XV. 

HAUN'S  MILL — JOSEPH  YOUNG'S  STORY  OF   THE  MAS- 
SACRE  SISTER   AMANDA    SMITH'S   STORY    OF    THAT 

TERRIBLE    TRAGEDY HER  WOUNDED    BOY's  MIRAC- 
ULOUS CURE^HER    FINAL    ESCAPE  FROM  MISSOURI. 

Towards  the  close  of  October,  1838,  several  small 
detachments  of  migrants  from  Ohio  entered  the 
State  of  Missouri.  They  were  of  the  refugees  from 
Kirtland.  Their  destinations  were  the  counties  of 
Caldwell  and  Davies,  where  the  saints  had  located 
in  that  State. 

Haun's  Mill,  in  Caldwell  county,  was  soon  to 
become  the  scene  of  one  of  the  darkest  tragedies 
on  record. 

The  mill  was  owned  by  a  Mormon  brother  whose 
name  it  bore,  and  in  the  neighborhood  some  Mor- 
mon families  had  settled. 

To  Haun's  Mill  came  the  doomed  refugees. 

They  had  been  met  on  their  entrance  into  the 
State  of  Missouri  by  armed  mobs.  Governor  Boggs 
had  just  issued  his  order  to  exterminate  the  entire 
Mormon  community. 

The  coming  of  the  refugees  into  the  inhospitable 
State  could  not  have  been  more  ill-timed,  though 
when  they  left  Kirtland  they  expected 'to  find  a 
brotherhood  in  Far  West. 


THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM.  1 1/ 

"  Halt !"  commanded  the  leader  of  a  band  of  well- 
mounted  and  well-armed  mobocrats,  who  charged 
down  upon  them  as  they  journeyed  on  their  way. 

"If  you  proceed  any  farther  west,"  said  the  cap- 
tain, "  you  will  be  instantly  shot." 

"  Wherefore  ?"  inquired  the  pilgrims. 

"  You  are  d — d  Mormons  !" 

"  We  are  law-abiding  Americans,  and  have  given 
no  cause  of  offence." 

"  You  are  d — d  Mormons.  That's  offence  enough. 
"  Within  ten  days  every  Mormon  must  be  out  of 
"Missouri,  or  men,  women  and  children  will  be  shot 
"  down  indiscriminately.  No  mercy  will  be  shown. 
"  It  is  the  order  of  the  Governor  that  you  should 
"  all  be  exterminated  ;  and  by  G — d  you  will  be." 

In  consternation  the  refugees  retreated,  and  gath- 
ered at  Haun's  Mill. 

It  was  Sunday,  October  26.  The  Mormons  were 
holding  a  council  and  deliberating  upon  the  best 
course  to  pursue  to  defend  themselves  against  the 
mob  that  was  collecting  in  the  neighborhood,  under 
the  command  of  a  Colonel  Jennings,  or  Livingston, 
and  threatening  them  with  house-burning  and  kill- 
ing. 

Joseph  Young,  the  brother  of  Brigham,  was  in 
the  council.  He  had  arrived  at  the  mill  that  day, 
with  his  family,  retreating  from  the  mob. 

The  decision  of  the  council  was  that  the  neigh- 
borhood of  Haun's  Mill  should  put  itself  in  an 
attitude  of  defence.  Accordingly  about  twenty-eight 
of  the  brethren  armed  themselves  and  prepared  to 
resist  an  attack. 

But  the  same  evening  the  mob  sent  one  of  their 


Il8  THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM. 

number  to  enter  into  a  treaty  with  the  Mormons  at 
the  mill.  The  treaty  was  accepted  on  the  condition 
of  mutual  forbearance,  and  that  each  party  should 
exert  its  influence  to  prevent  any  further  .hostilities. 

At  this  time,  however,  there  was  another  mob 
collecting  at  William  Mann's,  on  Grand  River,  so 
that  the  brethren  remained  under  arms  over  Mon- 
day, the  29th,  which  passed  without  attack  from  any 
quarter. 

"On  Tuesday, the  3Oth," says  J oseph Young,  "  that 
"  bloody  tragedy  was  enacted,  the  scenes  of  which  I 
"  shall  never  forget. 

"  More  than  three-fourths  of  the  day  had  passed 
"  in  tranquillity,  as  smiling  as  the  preceding  one.  I 
"  think  there  was  no  individual  of  our  company  that 
"was  apprised  of  the  sudden  and  awful  fate  which 
"  hung  over  our  heads  like  an  overwhelming  torrent, 
"  and  which  was  to  change  the  prospects,  the  feel- 
"  ings  and  sympathies  of  about  thirty  families. 

"  The  banks  of  Shoal  Creek,  on  either  side,  teemed 
"with  children  sporting  and  playing,  while  their 
"  mothers  were  engaged  in  domestic  employments. 
"  Fathers  or  husbands  were  either  on  guard  about 
"  the  mills  or  other  property,  or  employed  in  gath- 
"  ering  crops  for  winter  consumption.  The  weather 
"  was  very  pleasant,  the  sun  shone  clearly,  and  all 
"was  tranquil,  and  no  one  expressed  any  apprehen- 
"  sion  of  the  awful  crisis  that  was  near  us — even  at 
"  our  doors. 

"  It  was  about  four  o'clock  P.  M.,  while  sitting  in 
"  my  cabin,  with  my  babe  in  my  arms,  and  my  wife 
"  standing  by  my  side,  the  door  being  open,  I  cast 
"  my  eyes  on  the  opposite  bank  of  Shoal  Creek,  and 


THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM.  119 

"  saw  a  large  body  of  armed  men  on  horses  directing 
"  their  course  towards  the  mills  with  all  possible 
"  speed.  As  they  advanced  through  the  scattering 
"  trees  that  bordered  the  prairie,  they  seemed  to 
"  form  themselves  into  a  three-square  position,  form- 
"  ing  a  vanguard  in  front.  At  this  moment  David 
"  Evans,  seeing  the  superiority  of  their  numbers 
"  (there  being  two  hundred  and  forty  of  them,  ac- 
"  cording  to  their  own  account),  gave  a  signal  and 
"  cried  for  peace.  This  not  being  heeded,  they  con- 
"  tinued  to  advance,  and  their  leader,  a  man  named 
"  Comstock,  fired  a  gun,  which  was  followed  by  a 
"  solemn  pause  of  about  ten  or  twelve  seconds,  when 
"  all  at  once  they  discharged  about  one  hundred 
"  rifles,  aiming  at  a  blacksmith's  shop,  into  which 
"  our  friends  had  fled  for  safety.  They  then  charged 
"  up  to  the  shop,  the  crevices  of  which,  between  the 
"  logs,  were  sufficiently  large  to  enable  them  to  aim 
"  directly  at  the  bodies  of  those  who  had  there  fled  for 
"  refuge  from  the  fire  of  their  murderers.  There  were 
"  several  families  tented  in  the  rear  of  the  shop, 
"  whose  lives  were  exposed,  and  amid  showers  of 
"  bullets  these  fled  to  the  woods  in  different  direc- 
"  tions. 

"  After  standing  and  gazing  at  this  bloody  scene 
"  for  a  few  minutes,  and  finding  myself  in  the  utter- 
"  most  danger,  the  bullets  having  reached  the  house 
"  where  I  was  living,  I  committed  my  family  to  the 
"  protection  of  heaven ;  and  leaving  the  house  on 
"  the  opposite  side,  I  took  a  path  which  led  up  the 
"  hill,  following  in  the  trail  of  three  of  my  brethren 
"  that  had  fled  from  the  shop. 

"  While  ascending  the  hill  we  were  discovered  by 


I2O  THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM. 

"the  mob,  who  fired  at  us,  and  continued  so  to  do 
"till  we  reached  the  summit.  In  descending  the 
"  hill  I  secreted  myself  in  a  thicket  of  bushes,  where 
"  I  lay  till  8  o'clock  in  the  evening.  At  this  time  I 
"  heard  a  voice  calling  my  name  in  an  undertone. 
"  I  immediately  left  the  thicket  and  went  to  the 
"  house  of  Benjamin  Lewis,  where  I  found  my  family — 
"  who  had  fled  there  in  safety — and  two  of  my 
"  friends,  mortally  wounded,  one  of  whom  died  be- 
"fore  morning.  Here  we  passed  the  painful  night 
"  in  deep  and  awful  reflections  upon  the  scenes  of 
"the  preceding  evening. 

"  After  daylight  appeared  some  four  or  five  men, 
"with  myself,  who  had  escaped  with  our  lives  from 
"  this  horrid  massacre,  repaired  as  soon  as  possible 
"  to  the  mills  to  learn  the  condition  of  our  friends 
"  whose  fate  we  had  but  too  truly  anticipated. 

"  When  we  arrived  at  the  house  of  Mr.  Haun,  we 
"  found  Mr.  Merrick's  body  lying  in  the  rear  of  the 
"house,  and  Mr.  McBride's  in  front,  literally  man- 
"gled  from  head  to  foot.  We  were  informed  by 
"  Miss  Rebecca  Judd,  who  was  an  eye-witness,  that 
"  he  was  shot  with  his  own  gun  after  he  had  given  it 
"  up,  and  then  cut  to  pieces  with  a  corn-cutter  by  a 
"  man  named  Rogers,  of  Davies  county,  who  kept  a 
"ferry  on  Grand  River,  and  who  afterwards  repeat- 
"  edly  boasted  of  this  same  barbarity.  Mr.  York's 
"  body  we  found  in  the  house.  After  viewing  these 
"  corpses  we  immediately  went  to  the  blacksmith's 
"  shop,  where  we  found  nine  of  our  friends,  eight 
"  of  whom  were  already  dead — the  other,  Mr.  Cox, 
"of  Indiana,  in  the  agonies  of  death,  who  soon 
"  expired." 


THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM.  121 

But  to  sister  Amanda  Smith  must  be  given  the 
principal  thread  of  this  tragedy,  for  around  her  cen~ 
tres  the  terrible  interest  of  the  Haun's  Mill  massacre, 
which  even  to-day  rises  before  her  in  all  the  horrors 
of  an  occurring  scene.  She  says  : 

"  We  sold  our  beautiful  home  in  Kirtland  for  a 
"  song,  and  traveled  all  summer  to  Missouri — our 
"  teams  poor,  and  with  hardly  enough  to  keep  body 
"  and  soul  together. 

"  We  arrived  in  Caldwell  county,  near  Haun's 
"  Mill,  nine  wagons  of  us  in  company.  Two  days 
"  before  we  arrived  we  were  taken  prisoners  by  an 
"  armed  mob  that  had  demanded  every  bit  of  am- 
"  munition  and  every  weapon  we  had.  We  surren- 
"  dered  all.  They  knew  it,  for  they  searched  our 
"  wagons. 

"  A  few  miles  more  brought  us  to  Haun's  Mill, 
"  where  that  awful  scene  of  murder  was  enacted. 
"  My  husband  pitched  his  tent  by  a  blacksmith's 
"  shop. 

"  Brother  David  Evans  made  a  treaty  with  the 
"mob  that  they  would  not  molest  us.  He  came 
"just  before  the  massacre  and  called  the  company 
"  together  and  they  knelt  in  prayer. 

"  I  sat  in  my  tent.  Looking  up  I  suddenly  saw 
"  the  mob  coming — the  same  that  took  away  our 
"  weapons.  They  came  like  so  many  demons  or 
"wild  Indians. 

"  Before  I  could  get  to  the  blacksmith's  shop  door 
"  to  alarm  the  brethren,  who  were  at  prayers,  the 
"  bullets  were  whistling  amongst  them. 

"  I  seized  my  two  little  girls  and  escaped  across 
"  the  mill-pond  on  a  slab-walk.  Another  sister  fled 


122  THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM. 

"with  me.  Yet  though  we  were  women,  with  ten- 
"  der  children,  in  flight  for  our  lives,  the  demons 
"  poured  volley  after  volley  to  kill  us. 

"  A  number  of  bullets  entered  my  clothes,  but  I 
"  was  not  wounded.  The  sister,  however,  who  was 
"with  me,  cried  out  that  she  was  hit.  We  had  just 
"reached  the  trunk  of  a  fallen  tree,  over  which  I 
"urged  her,  bidding  her  to  shelter  there  where  the 
"  bullets  could  not  reach  her,  while  I  continued  my 
"  flight  to  some  bottom  land. 

"  When  the  firing  had  ceased  I  went  back  to  the 
"  scene  of  the  massacre,  for  there  were  my  husband 
"  and  three  sons,  of  whose  fate  I  as  yet  knew 
"  nothing. 

"  As  I  returned  I  found  the  sister  in  a  pool  of 
"  blood  where  she  had  fainted,  but  she  was  only  shot 
"through  the  hand.  Farther  on  was  lying  dead 
"  Brother  McBride,  an  aged  white-haired  revolu- 
"  tionary  soldier.  His  murderer  had  literally  cut  him 
"to  pieces  with  an  old  corn-cutter.  His  hands  had 
"  been  split  down  when  he  raised  them  in  supplication 
"  for  mercy.  Then  the  monster  cleft  open  his  head 
"  with  the  same  weapon,  and  the  veteran  who  had 
"  fought  for  his  country,  in  the  glorious  days  of  the 
"  past,  was  numbered  with  the  martyrs. 

"  Passing  on  I  came  to  a  scene  more  terrible  still 
"  to  the  mother  and  wife.  Emerging  from  the  black- 
"  smith  shop  was  my  eldest  son,  bearing  on  his' 
"shoulders  his  little  brother  Alma. 

"  '  Oh  !  my  Alma  is  dead !'  I  cried,  in  anguish. 

"  '  N  :>,  mother;  I  think  Alma  is  not  dead.  But 
"  father  and  brother  Sardius  are  killed  !' 

"  What  an  answer  was   this   to  appal  me !     My 


THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM.  123 

"  husband  and  son  murdered ;  another  little  son 
11  seemingly  mortally  wounded  ;  and  perhaps  before 
"  the  dreadful  night  should  pass  the  murderers  would 
"  return  and  complete  their  work  ! 

"  But  I  could  not  weep  then.  The  fountain  of 
"  tears  was  dry  ;  the  heart  overburdened  with  its 
"  calamity,  and  all  the  mother's  sense  absorbed  in 
"  its  anxiety  for  the  precious  boy  which  God  alone 
"  could  save  by  his  miraculous  aid. 

"  The  entire  hip  joint  of  my  wounded  boy  had 
"  been  shot  away.  Flesh,  hip  bone,  joint  and  all  had 
"been  ploughed  out  from  the  muzzle  of  the  gun 
"  which  the  ruffian  placed  to  the  child's  hip  through 
"  the  logs  of  the  shop  and  deliberately  fired. 

"  We  laid  little  Alma  on  a  bed  in  our  tent  and  I 
"examined  the  wound.  It  was  a  ghastly  sight.  I 
"  knew  not  what  to  do.  It  was  night  now. 

"  There  were  none  left  from  that  terrible  scene, 
"  throughout  that  long,  dark  night,  but  about  half  a 
"dozen  bereaved  and  lamenting  women,  and  the 
"  children.  Eighteen  or  nineteen,  all  grown  men 
"excepting  my  murdered  boy  and  another  about 
"  the  same  age,  were  dead  or  dying ;  several  more 
"  of  the  men  were  wounded,  hiding  away,  whose 
"  groans  through  the  night  too  well  disclosed  their 
"hiding  places,  while  the  rest  of  the  men  had  fled, 
"at  the  moment  of  the  massacre,  to  save  their  lives. 

"  The  women  were  sobbing,  in  the  greatest  an- 
"  guish  of  spirit ;  the  children  were  crying  loudly 
"with  fear  and  grief  at  the  loss  of  fathers  and 
"  brothers ;  the  dogs  howled  over  their  dead  mas- 
"  ters  and  the  cattle  were  terrified  with  the  scent  of 
"  the  blood  of  the  murdered. 


124  THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM, 

"  Yet  was  I  there,  all  that  long,  dreadful  night, 
"with  my  dead  and  my  wounded,  and  none  but  God 
"  as  our  physician  and  help. 

"  Oh  my  Heavenly  Father,  I  cried,  what  shall  I 
"do?  Thou  seest  my  poor  wounded  boy  and  know- 
"est  my  inexperience.  Oh  Heavenly  Father  direct 
"  me  what  to  do  ! 

"And  then  I  was  directed  as  by  a  voice  speaking 
"  to  me. 

"  The  ashes  of  our  fire  was  still  smouldering.  We 
"  had  been  burning  the  bark  of  the  shag-bark  hickory. 
"  I  was  directed  to  take  those  ashes  and  make  a  lye 
"and  put  a 'cloth  saturated  with  it  right  into  the 
"  wound.  It  hurt,  but  little  Alma  was  too  near  dead 
"to  heed  it  much.  Again  and  again  I  saturated  the 
"cloth  and  put  it  into  the  hole  from  which  the  hip- 
"joint  had  been  ploughed,  and  each  time  mashed 
"  flesh  and  splinters  of  bone  came  away  with  the 
"  cloth  ;  and  the  wound  became  as  white  as  chicken's 
"  flesh. 

"  Having  done  as  directed  I  again  prayed  to  the 
"  Lord  and  was  again  instructed  as  distinctly  as 
"though  a  physician  had  been  standing  by  speaking 
"  to  me. 

"  Near  by  was  a  slippery-elm  tree.  From  this  I 
"was  told  to  make  a  slippery-elm  poultice  and  fill 
"the  wound  with  it. 

"  My  eldest  boy  was  sent  to  get  the  slippery-elm 
"  from  the  roots,  the  poultice  was  made,  and  the 
"wound,  which  took  fully  a  quarter  of  a  yard  of 
"  linen  to  cover,  so  large  was  it,  was  properly  dressed. 

"  It  was  then  I  found  vent  to  my  feelings  in  tearsf 
"  and  resigned  myself  to  the  anguish  of  the  hou*. 


THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM.  125 

"  And  all  that  night  we,  a  few  poor,  stricken  women, 
"  were  thus  left  there  with  our  dead  and  wounded. 
"  All  through  the  night  we  heard  the  groans  of  the 
"  dying.  Once  in  the  dark  we  crawled  over  the  heap 
"  of  dead  in  the  blacksmith's  shop  to  try  to  help  or 
"  soothe  the  sufferers'  wants ;  once  we  followed  the 
"  cries  of  a  wounded  brother  who  hid  in  some  bushes 
"  from  the  murderers,  and  relieved  him  all  we  could. 

"It  has  passed  from  my  memory  whether  he  was 
"  dead  in  the  morning  or  whether  he  recovered. 

"  Next  morning  brother  Joseph  Young  came  to 
"  the  scene  of  the  massacre. 

" '  What  shall  be  done  with  the  dead  ?'  he  inquired, 
"  in  horror  and  deep  trouble. 

"  There  was  not  time  to  bury  them,  for  the  mob 
"was  coming  on  us.  Neither  were  there  left  men  to 
"  dig  the  graves.  All  the  men  excepting  the  two  or 
"  three  who  had  so  narrowly  escaped  were  dead  or 
"wounded.  It  had  been  no  battle,  but  a  massacre 
"  indeed. 

"'Do  anything,  Brother  Joseph,'  I  said,  'rather 
"  than  leave  their  bodies  to  the  fiends  who  have 
"killed  them.' 

"  There  was  a  deep  dry  weir  close  by.  Into  this 
"  the  bodies  had  to  be  hurried,  eighteen  or  nineteen 
"  in  number. 

"  No  funeral  service  could  be  performed,  nor 
"  could  they  be  buried  with  customary  decency.  The 
"lives  of  those  who  in  terror  performed  the  last 
"  duty  to  the  dead  were  in  jeopardy.  Every  moment 
"  we  expected  to  be  fired  upon  by  the  fiends  who  we 
"  supposed  were  lying  in  ambush  waiting  the  first 
"  opportunity  to  dispatch  the  remaining  few  who 


126  THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM. 

"  had  escaped  the  slaughter  of  the  preceding  day. 
"  So  in  the  hurry  and  terror  of  the  moment  some 
"were  thrown  into  the  well  head  downwards  and 
"  some  feet  downwards. 

"  But  when  it  came  to  the  burial  of  my  murdered 
"boy  Sardius,  Brother  Joseph  Young,  who  was 
"  assisting  to  carry  him  on  a  board  to  the  well,  laid 
"  down  the  corpse  and  declared  that  he  could  not 
"throw  that  boy  into  this  horrible  grave. 

"  All  the  way  on  the  journey,  that  summer,  Joseph 
"  had  played  with  the  interesting  lad  who  had  been 
"  so  cruelly  murdered.  It  was  too  much  for  one 
"whose  naturewas  so  tenderas  Uncle  Joseph's,  and 
"whose  sympathies  by  this  time  were  quite  over- 
"  wrought.  He  could  not  perform  that  last  office. 
"  My  murdered  son  was  left  unburied. 

"  '  Oh  !  they  have  left  my  Sardius  unburied  in  the 
"  sun,'  I  cried,  and  ran  and  got  a  sheet  and  covered 
"  his  body. 

"  There  he  lay  until  the  next  day,  and  then  I,  his 
"  mother,  assisted  by  his  elder  brother,  had  to  throw 
"  him  into  the  well.  Straw  and  earth  were  thrown 
"  into  this  rude  vault  to  cover  the  dead. 

"  Among  the  wounded  who  recovered  were  Isaac 
"  Laney,  Nathaniel  K.  Knight,  Mr.  Yokum,  two 
"  brothers  by  the  name  of  Myers,  Tarlton  Lewis, 
"  Mr.  Haun  and  several  others,  besides  Miss  Mary 
"  Stedwell,  who  was  shot  through  the  hand  while 
"  fleeing  with  me,  and  who  fainting,  fell  over  the  log 
"  into  which  the  mob  shot  upwards  of  twenty  balls. 

"The  crawling  of  my  boys  under  the  bellows  in 
"  the  blacksmith's  shop  where  the  tragedy  occurred, 
"  is  an  incident  familiar  to  all  our  people.  Alma's 


THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM.  I2/ 

"  hip  was  shot  away  while  thus  hiding.  Sardius  was 
"  discovered  after  the  massacre  by  the  monsters  who 
"  came  in  to  despoil  the  bodies.  The  eldest,  Willard, 
"was  not  discovered.  In  cold  blood,  one  Glaze,  of 
"  Carroll  county,  presented  a  rifle  near  the  head  of 
"  Sardius  and  literally  blew  off  the  upper  part  of  it, 
"  leaving  the  skull  empty  and  dry  while  the  brains 
"and  hair  of  the  murdered  boy  were  scattered 
"around  and  on  the  walls.  ; 

"  At  this  one  of  the  men,  more  merciful  than  the 
"  rest,  observed  : 

"'It  was  a  d — d  shame  to  kill  those  little  boys/ 

"  '  D— n  the  difference  !'  retorted  the  other  ;  '  nits 
"  make  lice  f 

"  My  son  who  escaped,  also  says  that  the  mobo- 
"  crat  William  Mann  took  from  my  husband's  feet, 
"before  he  was  dead,  a  pair  of  new  boots.  From 
"  his  hiding  place,  the  boy  saw  the  ruffian  drag  his 
"  father  across  the  shop  in  the  act  of  pulling  off  his 
"  boot. 

"  '  Oh  !  you  hurt  me  !'  groaned  my  husband.  But 
"  the  murderer  dragged  him  back  again,  pulling  off 
"  the  other  boot ;  '  and  there/  says  the  boy,  '  my 
"father  fell  over  dead/ 

"  Afterwards  this  William  Mann  showed  the  boots 
"on  his  own  feet,  in  Far  West,  saying:  '  Here  is  a 
"  pair  of  boots  that  I  pulled  off  before  the  d — d 
41  Mormon  was  done  kicking  !' 

"  The  murderer  Glaze  also  boasted  over  the  coun- 
"try,  as  a  heroic  deed,  the  blowing  off  the  head  of 
"  my  young  son. 

"  But  to  return  to  Alma,  and  how  the  Lord  helped 
"  me  to  save  his  life. 


128  THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM. 

"  I  removed  the  wounded  boy  to  a  house,  some 
"  distance  off,  the  next  day,  and  dressed  his  hip  ;  the 
"  Lord  directing  me  as  before.  I  was  reminded  that 
"  in  my  husband's  trunk  there  was  a  bottle  of  bal- 
"  sam.  This  I  poured  into  the  wound,  greatly  sooth- 
"  ing  Alma's  pain. 

"  'Alma,  my  child,'  I  said,  'you  believe  that  the 
"  Lord  made  your  hip  ?' 

"'Yes,  mother.' 

" '  Well,  the  Lord  can  make  something  there  in  the 
"place  of  your  hip,  don't  you  believe  he  can,  Alma?' 

"'Do  you  think  that  the  .Lord  can,  mother?'  in- 
"  quired  the  child,  in  his  simplicity. 

'"Yes,  my  son,'  I  replied,  'he  has  shown  it  all  to 
"me  in  a  vision.' 

"  Then  I  laid  him  comfortably  on  his  face,  and 
"  said :  '  Now  you  lay  like  that,  and  don't  move,  and 
"  the  Lord  will  make  you  another  hip.' 

"  So  Alma  laid  on  his  face  for  five  weeks,  until  he 
"was  entirely  recovered — a  flexible  gristle  having 
"grown  in  place  of  the  missing  joint  and  socket, 
"  which  remains  to  this  day  a  marvel  to  physicians. 

"  On  the  day  that  he  walked  again  I  was  out  of 
"  the  house  fetching  a  bucket  of  water,  when  I  heard 
"  screams  from  the  children.  Running  back,  in 
"  affright,  I  entered,  and  there  was  Alma  on  the 
"  floor,  dancing  around,  and  the  children  screaming 
"  in  astonishment  and  joy. 

"  It  is  now  nearly  forty  years  ago,  but  Alma  has 
"  never  been  the  least  crippled  during  his  life,  and 
"  he  has  traveled  quite  a  long  period  of  the  time  as 
"  a  missionary  of  the  gospel  and  a  living  miracle  of 
"  the  power  of  God. 


THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM.  1 29 

"  I  cannot  leave  the  tragic  story  without  relating 
"  some  incidents  of  those  five  weeks  when  I  was  a 
"  prisoner  with  my  wounded  boy  in  Missouri,  near 
"  the  scene  of  the  massacre,  unable  to  obey  the 
"  order  of  extermination. 

"  All  the  Mormons  in  the  neighborhood  had  fled 
"out  of  the  State,  excepting  a  few  families  of  the 
"  bereaved  women  and  children  who  had  gathered 
"  at  the  house  of  Brother  David  Evans,  two  miles 
"  from  the  scene  of  the  massacre.  To  this  house 
"  Alma  had  been  carried  after  that  fatal  night. 

"  In  our  utter  desolation,  what  could  we  women 
"  do  but  pray  ?  Prayer  was  our  only  source  of  com- 
"  fort  ;  our  Heavenly  Father  our  only  helper.  None 
"  but  he  could  save  and  deliver  us. 

"  One  day  a  mobber  came  from  the  mill  with  the 
"  captain's  fiat : 

"  '  The  captain  says  if  you  women  don't  stop  your 
"  d — d  praying  he  will  send  down  a  posse  and  kill 
"  every  d — d  one  of  you  !' 

"  And  he  might  as  well  have  done  it,  as  to  stop 
"us  poor  women  praying  in  that  hour  of  our  great 
"  calamity. 

"  Our  prayers  were  hushed  in  terror.  We  dared 
"  not  let  our  voices  be  heard  in  the  house  in  suppli- 
"  cation.  I  could  pray  in  my  bed  or  in  silence,  but 
"  I  could  not  live  thus  long.  This  godless  silence 
"  was  more  intolerable  than  had  been  that  night  of 
"  the  massacre. 

"  I  could  bear  it  no  longer.  I  pined  to  hear  once 
"  more  my  own  voice  in  petition  to  my  Heavenly 
"  Father. 

"  I  stole  down   into  a  corn-field,  and  crawled  into 

9 


130  THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM. 

"  a  '  stout  of  corn.'  It  was  as  the  temple  of  the  Lord 
"  to  me  at  that  moment.  I  prayed  aloud  and  most 
"  fervently. 

"  When  I  emerged  from  the  corn  a  voice  spoke 
"  to  me.  It  was  a  voice  as  plain  as  I  ever  heard  one. 
"  It  was  no  silent,  strong  impression  of  the  spirit, 
"  but  a  voice,  repeating  a  verse  of  the  saint's  hymn : 

"  That  soul  who  on  Jesus  hath  leaned  for  repose, 
I  cannot,  I  will  not  desert  to  its  foes ; 
That  soul,  though  all  hell  should  endeavor  to  shake, 
I'll  never,  no  never,  no  never  forsake ! 

"  From  that  moment  I  had  no  more  fear.  I  felt 
"  that  nothing  could  hurt  me.  Soon  after  this  the 
"mob  sent  us  word  that  unless  we  were  all  out  of 
"  the  State  by  a  certain  day  we  should  be  killed. 

"  The  day  came,  and  at  evening  came  fifty  armed 
(<  men  to  execute  the  sentence. 

"  I  met  them  at  the  door.  They  demanded  of 
"  me  why  I  was  not  gone  ?  I  bade  them  enter  and 
"  see  their  own  work.  They  crowded  into  my  room 
"  and  I  showed  them  my  wounded  boy.  They  came, 
"  party  after  party,  until  all  had  seen  my  excuse. 
"  Then  they  quarreled  among  themselves  and  came 
"  near  fighting. 

"  At  last  they  went  away,  all  but  two.  These  I 
"  thought  were  detailed  to  kill  us.  Then  the  two 
"  returned. 

"'Madam,'  said  one,  'have  you  any  meat  in  the 
"  house  ?' 

"  '  No,'  was  my  reply. 

"'Could  you  dress  a  fat  hog  if  one  was  laid  at 
"your  door?' 

"'  I  think  we  could  !'  was  my  answer 


THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM.  13! 

"  And  then  they  went  and  caught  a  fat  hog  from 
"  a  herd  which  had  belonged  to  a  now  exiled  brother, 
"  killed  it  and  dragged  it  to  my  door,  and  departed. 

"  These  men,  who  had  come  to  murder  us,  left  on 
"  the  threshold  of  our  door  a  meat  offering  to  atone 
"  for  their  repented  intention. 

"  Yet  even  when  my  son  was  well  I  could  not 
"  leave  the  State,  now  accursed  indeed  to  the  saints. 

"  The  mob  had  taken  my  horses,  as  they  had  the 
"  drove  of  horses,  and  the  beeves,  and  the  hogs,  and 
"  wagons,  and  the  tents,  of  the  murdered  and  ex- 
"  iled. 

"  So  I  went  down  into  Davies  county  (ten  miles) 
"  to  Captain  Comstock,  and  demanded  of  him  my 
"horses.  There  was  one  of  them  in  his  yard.  He 
"  said  I  could  have  it  if  I  paid  five  dollars  for  its 
"  keep.  I  told  him  I  had  no  money. 

"  I  did  not  fear  the  captain  of  the  mob,  for  I  had 
"  the  Lord's  promise  that  nothing  should  hurt  me. 
"  But  his  wife  swore  that  the  mobbers  were  fools  for 
"  not  killing  the  women  and  children  as  well  as  the 
"  men — declaring  that  we  would  '  breed  up  a  pack 
"  ten  times  worse  than  the  first/ 

"  I  left  without  the  captain's  permission  to  take 
"  my  horse,  or  giving  pay  for  its  keep  ;  but  I  went 
"  into  his  yard  and  took  it,  and  returned  to  our 
"  refuge  unmolested. 

"  Learning  that  my  other  horse  was  at  the  mill,  I 
"  next  yoked  up  a  pair  of  steers  to  a  sled  and  went 
"  and  demanded  it  also. 

"  Comstock  was  there  at  the  mill.  He  gave  me 
"  the  horse,  and  then  c.sked  if  I  had  any  flour. 

"  '  No  ;  we  have  had  none  for  weeks.' 


132  THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM. 

"  He  then  gave  me  about  fifty  pounds  of  flour 
"  and  some  beef,  and  filled  a  can  with  honey. 

"  But  the  mill,  and  the  slaughtered  beeves  which 
"  hung  plentifully  on  its  walls,  and  the  stock  of  flour 
"  and  honey,  and  abundant  spoil  besides,  had  all  be- 
"  longed  to  the  murdered  or  exiled  saints. 

"  Yet  was  I  thus  providentially,  by  the  very  mur- 
"  derers  and  mobocrats  themselves,  helped  out  of 
"  the  State  of  Missouri. 

"  The  Lord  had  kept  his  word.  The  soul  who  on 
"Jesus  had  leaned  for  succor  had  npt  been  forsaken 
11  even  in  this  terrible  hour  of  massacre,  and  in  that 
"  infamous  extermination  of  the  Mormons  from  Mis- 
"souri  in  the  years  1838-39. 

"  One  incident  more,  as  a  fitting  close. 

"  Over  that  rude  grave — that  well — where  the 
"  nineteen  martyrs  slept,  where  my  murdered  hus- 
"  band  and  boy  were  entombed,  the  mobbers  of 
"  Missouri,  with  an  exquisite  fiendishness,  which  no 
"savages  could  have  conceived,  had  constructed  a 
"  rude  privy.  This  they  constantly  used,  with  a  de- 
"  light  which  demons  might  have  envied,  if  demons 
"are  more  wicked  and  horribly  beastly  than  were 
"  they. 

"  Thus  ends  my  chapter  of  the  Haun's  Mill  mas- 
"  sacre,  to  rise  in  judgment  against  them  !" 


CHAPTER  XVI. 

MOBS    DRIVE    THE    SETTLERS  INTO    FAR  WEST HEROIC 

DEATH    OF    APOSTLE   PATTEN TREACHERY  OF  COL. 

HINKLE,    AND    FALL    OF    THE    MORMON    CAPITAL 

FAMOUS    SPEECH    OF    MAJOR-GENERAL    CLARK. 

But  the  iliad  of  Mormondom  was  now  in  Far 
West. 

Haun's  Mill  massacre  was  merely  a  tragic  episode; 
a  huge  tragedy  in  itself,  it  is  true,  such  as  civilized 
times  scarcely  ever  present,  yet  merely  an  episode  of 
this  strange  religious  iliad  of  America  and  the  nine- 
teenth century. 

The  capital  of  Mormondom  was  now  the  city  of 
Far  West,  in  Missouri. 

There  was  Joseph  the  prophet.  There  was  Brig- 
ham  Young — his  St.  Peter — who  by  this  time  fairly 
held  the  keys  of  the  latter-day  kingdom.  There 
were  the  apostles.  There  were  two  armies  mar- 
shaled— the  army  of  the  Lord  and  the  army  of 
Satan.  And  these  were  veritable  hosts,  of  flesh  and 
blood,  equipped  and  marshaled  in  a  religious  cru- 
sade— not  merely  spiritual  powers  contending. 

"  On  the  4th  of  July,  1838,"  writes  Apostle  Parley 
Pratt,  "  thousands  of  the  citizens  who  belonged  to 
""  the  church  of  the  saints  assembled  at  the  city  of 


134  THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM. 

"  Far  West,  the  county  seat  of  Caldwell,  in  order  to 
"  celebrate  our  nation's  birth. 

"  We  erected  a  tall  standard,  on  which  was  hoisted 
"  our  national  colors,  the  stars  and  stripes,  and  the 
"bold  eagle  of  American  liberty.  Under  its  waving 
"  folds  we  laid  the  corner-stone  of  a  temple  of  /God, 
"  and  dedicated  the  land  and  ourselves  and  families 
"  to  him  who  had  preserved  us  in  all  our  troubles. 

"  An  address  was  then  delivered  by  Sidney 
"  Rigdon,  in  which  was  portrayed  in  lively  colors 
"  the  oppression  which  we  had  suffered  at  the  hands 
"  of  our  enemies. 

"  We  then  and  there  declared  our  constitutional 
"  rights  as  American  citizens,  and  manifested  our 
"  determination  to  resist,  with  our  utmost  endeavors, 
"  from  that  time  forth,  all  oppression,  and  to  main- 
"tain  our  rights  and  freedom,  according  to  the  holy 
"  principles  of  liberty  as  guaranteed  to  every  person 
"  by  the  constitution  and  laws  of  our  country. 

"  This  declaration  was  received  with  shouts  of 
"  hosanna  to  God  and  the  Lamb,  and  with  many 
"long  cheers  by  the  assembled  thousands,  who  were 
"  determined  to  yield  their  rights  no  more  unless 
"  compelled  by  superior  power." 

Very  proper,  too  were  such  resolutions  of  these 
sons  and  daughters  of  sires  and  mothers  who  were 
among  the  pilgrim  founders  of  this  nation,  and 
among  the  heroes  and  heroines  of  the  Revolution. 

But  Missouri  could  not  endure  this  temple-build- 
ing to  the  God  of  Israel,  nor  these  mighty  shouts 
of  hosanna  to  his  name ;  while  the  all-prevailing 
faith  of  the  sisters  brought  more  of  the  angels  down 
frcm  the  New  Jerusalem  than  earth  just  then  was 


THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM.  135 

prepared  to  receive.  In  popular  words,  this  form- 
idable gathering  of  a  modern  Israel  and  this  city 
building  within  its  borders  loomed  up  to  Missouri 
as  the  rising  of  a  Mormon  empire. 

Soon  the  State  was  alive  with  mobs  determined 
on  the  extermination  of  the  saints  ;  soon  those  mobs 
numbered  ten  thousand  armed  men  ;  soon  also  were 
they  converted  into  a  State  army,  officered  by  gen- 
erals and  major-generals,  with  the  governor  as  the 
commander-in-chief  of  a  boldly  avowed  religious 
crusade,  with  rival  priests  as  its  "inspiring  de- 


mons." 


One  feature,  all  worthy  of  note,  in  this  Hebraic 
drama  of  Mormondom,  is  that  while  modern  Israel 
was  ever  in  the  action  inspired  by  archangels  of  the 
new  covenant,  the  anti-Mormon  crusade  was  as 
constantly  inspired  by  sectarian  priests  at  war  with 
a  dispensation  of  angels. 

Even  the  mobber,  Captain  Comstock,  who  was 
bold  enough  to  perpetrate  a  Haun's  Mill  massacre, 
was  in  consternation  over  the  magic  prayers  of  a 
few  stricken  women  who  honored  the  God  of  Israel 
in  the  hour  of  direst  calamity. 

Thus  throughout  Missouri.  And  so  the  exter- 
minating order  of  Governor  Boggs  prevailed  like 
the  edict  of  a  second  Nebuchadnezzar. 

There  was  a  Mormon  war  in  the  State.  So  it 
was  styled. 

Mobs  were  abroad,  painted  like  Indian  warriors, 
committing  murder,  robbery,  burning  the  home- 
steads of  the  saints,  and  spreading  desolation. 

Next,  one  thousand  men  were  ordered  into  ser- 
vice by  the  Governor,  under  the  command  of  Major- 


136  THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM. 

General  Atchison  and  Brigadier-Generals  Park  and 
Doniphan. 

This  force  marched  against  the  saints  in  several 
counties.  A  Presbyterian  priest,  Rev.  Sashel  Woods, 
was  its  chaplain.  He  said  prayers  in  the  camp, 
morning  and  evening.  'Twas  a  godly  service  in  an 
ungodly  crusade,  but  the  Rev.  Sashel  Woods  was 
equal  to  it.  The  Philistines  drove  modern  Israel 
before  them,  and  their  priest  prayed  Jehovah  out  of 
countenance. 

In  Far  West  a  thousand  men  of  our  Mormon  Israel 
flew  to  arms,  and  in  Davies  county  several  hundred 
men  assembled  for  defence.  Colonel  David  Patten, 
an  apostle,  with  his  company  put  to  flight  some  of 
the  mob  ;  but  the  crusaders  in  general  drove  the 
saints  from  settlement  after  settlement. 

Hundreds  of  men,  women  and  children  fled  from 
their  homes  to  the  cities  and  strongholds  of  their 
people.  From  Davies  county  and  the  frontiers  of 
Caldwell  the  refugees  daily  poured  into  the  city  of 
Far  West.  Lands  and  crops  were  abandoned  to  the 
enemy.  The  citizens  in  the  capital  of  the  saints 
were  constantly  under  arms.  Men  slept  in  their 
clothes,  with  arms  by  their  side,  ready  to  muster  at 
a  given  signal  at  any  hour  of  the  night. 

A  company  under  Colonel  Patten  went  out  to 
meet  the  enemy  across  the  prairies,  a  distance  of 
twelve  miles,  to  stop  the  murder  and  spoliation  of  a 
settlement  of  their  people.  Parley  Pratt  was  one 
of  the  posse. 

"  The  night  was  dark,"  he  says ;  "  the  distant  plains 
"  far  and  wide  were  illuminated  by  blazing  fires ; 
"  immense  columns  of  smoke  were  seen  rising  in 


THE 'WOMEN  OF  MORMON£>OM.  137 

"  awful  majesty,  as  if  the  world  was  on  fire.  This 
"scene,  added  to  the  silence  of  midnight,  the  rumb- 
"  ling  sound  of  the  tramping  steeds  over  the  hard 
"and  dried  surface  of  the  plain,  the  clanking  of 
"  swords  in  their  scabbards,  the  occasional  gleam  of 
"  bright  armor  in  the  flickering  firelight,  the  gloom 
"  of  surrounding  darkness,  and  the  unknown  destiny 
"  of  the  expedition,  or  even  of  the  people  who  sent 
"  it  forth,  all  combined  to  impress  the  mind  with 
"  deep  and  solemn  thoughts." 

At  dawn  of  day  they  met  the  enemy  in  ambush 
in  the  wilderness.  The  enemy  opened  fire,  mortally 
wounding  a  brother  named  O'Banyon.  Soon  the 
brethren  charged  the  enemy  in  his  camp ;  several 
fell  upon  both  sides,  among  whom  was  the  brave 
apostle,  David  Patten ;  but  the  foemen  flung 
themselves  into  a  stream  and  escaped  on  the 
opposite  shore,  while  the  wilderness  resounded 
with  the  watchword  of  the  heroes,  "  God  and  Lib- 
erty:' 

Six  of  the  brethren  were  wounded,  and  one  left 
dead  on  the  ground. 

The  heroes  returned  to  Far  West.  Among  those 
who  came  out  to  meet  them  was  the  wife  of  the 
dying  apostle,  Patten. 

"  O  God  !  O  my  husband  !"  she  exclaimed,  burst- 
ing into  tears. 

The  wounds  were  dressed.  David  was  still  able 
to  speak,  but  he  died  that  evening  in  the  triumphs 
of  faith. 

"  I  had  rather  die,"  he  said,  "  than  live  to  see  it 
"  thus  in  my  country  !" 

The  young  O'Banyon  also  died  about  the  same 


138  THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM. 

time.  They  were  buried  together  under  military 
honors  ;  a  whole  people  in  tears  followed  them  to 
their  grave. 

David  Patten  was  the  first  of  the  modern  apostles 
who  found  a  martyr's  grave.  He  is  said  to  have 
been  a  great  and  good  man,  who  chose  to  lay  down 
his  life  for  the  cause  of  truth  and  right. 

Not  long  now  ere  Governor  Boggs  found  the 
opportunity  for  the  grand  expulsion  of  the  entire 
Mormon  community — from  twelve  to  fifteen  thou- 
sand souls.  He  issued  an  order  for  some  ten 
thousand  troops  to  be  mustered  into  service  and 
marched  to  the  field  against  the  Mormons,  giving 
the  command  to  General  Clark.  His  order  was 
expressly  to  exterminate  the  Mormons,  or  drive 
them  from  the  State. 

The  army  of  extermination  marched  upon  the 
city  of  Far  West. 

The  little  Mormon  host,  about  five  hundred 
strong,  marched  out  upon  the  plains  on  the  south 
of  the  city,  and  formed  in  order  of  battle.  Its  line 
of  infantry  extended  near  half  a  mile  ;  a  small  com- 
pany of  horse  was  posted  on  the  right  wing  on  a 
commanding  eminence,  and  another  in  the  rear  of 
the  main  body  extended  as  a  reserve. 

The  army  of  extermination  halted  and  formed 
along  the  borders  of  a  stream  called  Goose  Creek  ; 
and  both  sides  sent  out  white  flags,  which  met  be- 
tween the  armies. 

"  We  want  three  persons  out  of  the  city  before 
we  massacre  the  rest !"  was  the  voice  of  the  white 
flag  from  the  governor's  army. 

Small  need  this,  for  the  flag  of  mercy !   But  it  was 


THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM.  139 

as  good  as  the  mercy  of  Haim's  Mill,  which  was 
given  on  the  very  same  day. 

That  night  Major-General  Lucas  encamped  near 
the  city.  The  brethren  continued  under  arms,  and 
spent  the  night  throwing  up  temporary  breastworks. 
They  were  determined  to  defend  their  homes,  wives 
and  children  to  the  last.  Both  armies  were  consid- 
erably reinforced  during  the  night,  the  army  of 
extermination  being  reinforced  with  the  monsters 
from  the  Haun's  Mill  massacre. 

But  the  prophet  and  brethren  were  on  the  next 
day  betrayed  by  the  traitor  Colonel  George  M. 
H inkle,  who  was  in  command  of  the  defence  of  Far 
West. 

Joseph  was  now  a  prisoner  of  war;  Parley  and 
others  were  prisoners  also  ;  Brigham  was  at  Far 
West,  but  even  he  could  not  save  the  prophet  and 
the  saints  from  this  formidable  army,  nor  lessen  the 
blow  which  a  traitor  had  dealt.  The  treachery  of 
Colonel  H  inkle  had,  however,  perhaps  saved  the 
lives  of  hundreds  of  women  and  children,  and  pre- 
vented brave  men  from  fighting  in  a  just  cause. 

It  was  November,  now,  and  Major-General  Clark 
was  also  at  Far  West  with  his  army  of  extermina- 
tion. No  book  of  the  persecutions  could  be  properly 
written  without  his  speech  to  the  Mormons,  espec- 
ially a  book  of  the  sisters,  whom  it  so  much  con- 
cerned : 

"  GENTLEMEN:  You, whose  names  are  not  on  this 
list,  will  now  have  the  privilege  of  going  to  your 
fields  to  obtain  grain  for  your  families — wood,  etc. 
Those  that  compose  the  list  will  go  hence  to  prison, 
to  be  tried,  and  receive  the  cl.:c  demerits  of  their 


I4O  THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM. 

crimes.  But  you  are  now  at  liberty,  all  but  such  as 
charges  may  hereafter  be  preferred  against.  It  now 
devolves  upon  you  to  fulfill  the  treaty  that  you  have 
entered  into — the  leading  items  of  which  I  now  lay 
before  you. 

"  The  first  of  these  items  you  have  already  com- 
plied with — which  is,  that  you  deliver  up  your  lead- 
ing men  to  be  tried  according  to  law.  Second,  that 
you  deliver  up  your  arms — this  has  been  attended , 
to.  The  third  is,  that  you  sign  over  your  property 
to  defray  the  expenses  of  the  war ;  this  you  have 
also  done.  Another  thing  yet  remains  for  you  to 
comply  with  ;  that  is :  that  you  leave  the  State 
forthwith  ;  and,  whatever  your  feeling  concerning 
this  affair,  whatever  your  innocence,  it  is  nothing  to 
me.  General  Lucas,  who  is  equal  in^  authority  with 
me,  has  made  this  treaty  with  you.  I  am  determined 
to  see  it  executed. 

"  The  orders  of  the  Governor  to  me,  were,  that 
you  should  be  exterminated,  and  not  allowed  to  re- 
main in  the  State.  And  had  your  leaders  not  been 
given  up,  and  the  treaty  complied  with,  before  this 
you  and  your  families  would  have  been  destroyed 
and  your  houses  in  ashes. 

"  There  is  a  discretionary  power  resting  in  my 
hands,  which  I  shall  try  to  exercise  for  a  season.  I 
did  not  say  that  you  must  go  now,  but  you  must 
not  think  of  stopping  here  another  season,  or  of 
putting  in  crops  ;  for  the  moment  you  do,  the  citi- 
zens will  be  upon  you.  I  am  determined  to  see  the 
Governor's  orders  fulfilled,  but  shall  not  come  upon 
you  immediately.  Do  not  think  that  I  shall  act  as 
I  have  done  any  more  ;  but  if  I  have  to  come  again 
because  the  treaty  which  you  have  made  is  not 
complied  with,  you  need  not  expect  any  mercy,  but 
extermination  ;  for  I  am  determined  that  the  Gov- 
ernor's order  shall  be  executed. 

"  As  for  your  leaders,  do  not  think,  do  not  imagine 
for  a  moment,  do  not  let  it  enter  your  minds  that 


THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM.  141 

they  will  be  delivered,  or  that  you  will  see  their  faces 
again,  for  their  fate  is  fixed,  their  die  is  cast,  their 
doom  is  sealed. 

"  I  am  sorry,  gentlemen,  to  see  so  great  a  number 
of  apparently  intelligent  men  found  in  the  situation 
that  you  are.  And,  oh  !  that  I  could  invoke  the 
spirit  of  the  unknown  God  to  rest  upon  you,  and 
deliver  you  from  that  awful  chain  of  superstition, 
and  liberate  you  from  those  fetters  of  fanaticism 
with  which  you  are  bound.  I  would  advise  you 
to  scatter  abroad  and  never  again  organize  with 
bishops,  presidents,  etc.,  lest  you  excite  the  jeal- 
ousies of  the  people,  and  subject  yourselves  to  the 
same  calamities  that  have  now  come  upon  you. 

"  You  have  always  been  the  aggressors  ;  you  have 
brought  upon  yourselves  these  difficulties  by  being 
disaffected,  and  not  being  subject  to  rule ;  and  my 
advice  is,  that  you  become  as  other  citizens,  lest  by 
a  recurrence  of  thc^e  events  you  bring  upon  your- 
selves inevitable  ruin." 


CHAPTER  XVII. 

EPISODES     OF      THE      PERSECUTIONS CONTINUATION 

OF     ELIZA    R.    SNOW'S     NARRATIVE BATHSHEBA    W. 

SMITH'S  STORY — LOUISA  F.  WELLS  INTRODUCED 
TO  THE  READER EXPERIENCE  OF  ABIGAIL  LEO- 
NARD  MARGARET  FOUTZ. 

The  prophet  and  his  brother  Hyrum  were  in 
prison  and  in  chains  in  Missouri  ;  Sidney  Rigdon, 
Parley  Pratt  and  others  were  also  in  prison  and  in 
chains,  for  the  gospel's  sake. 

The  St.  Peter  of  Mormondom  was  engaged  in 
removing  the  saints  from  Missouri  to  Illinois.  He 
had  made  a  covenant  with  them  that  none  of  the 
faithful  should  be  left.  Faithfully  he  kept  that 
covenant.  It  was  then,  in  fact,  that  Brigham  rose 
as  a  great  leader  of  a  people,  giving  promise  of 
what  he  has  been  since  the  martyrdom  of  the  pro- 
phet. 

While  Joseph  is  in  chains,  and  Brigham  is  ac- 
complishing the  exodus  from  Missouri,  the  sisters 
shall  relate  some  episodes  of  those  days. 

Sister  Snow,  continuing  the  thread  of  her  narra- 
tive already  given,  says : 

In  Kirtland  the  persecution  increased  until  many 
had  to  flee  for  their  lives,  and  in  the  spring  of  1838, 


THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM.  143 

in  company  with  my  father,  mother,  three  brothers, 
one  sister  and  her  two  daughters,  I  left  Kirtland, 
and  arrived  in  Far  West,  Caldwell  county,  Mo.,  on 
the  1 6th  of  July,  where  I  stopped  at  the  house  of 
Sidney  Rigdon,  with  my  brother  Lorenzo,  who  was 
very  sick,  while  the  rest  of  the  family  went  farther, 
and  settled  in  Adam-Ondi-Ahman,  in  Davies  county. 
In  two  weeks,  my  brother  being  sufficiently  recov- 
ered, my  father  sent  for  us  and  we  joined  the  family 
group.  My  father  purchased  the  premises  of  two 
of  the  "  old  settlers,"  and  paid  their  demands  in  full. 
I  mention  this,  because  subsequent  events  proved 
that,  at  the  time  of  the  purchase,  although  those 
men  ostensibly  were  our  warm  friends,  they  had,  in 
connection  with  others  of  the  same  stripe,  concocted 
plans  to  mob  and  drive  us  from  our  newly  acquired 
homes,  and  repossess  them.  In  this  brief  biographi- 
cal sketch,  I  shall  not  attempt  a  review  of  the  scenes 
that  followed.  Sufficient  to  say,  while  we  were  busy 
in  making  preparations  for  the  approaching  winter, 
to  our  great  surprise,  those  neighbors  fled  from  the 
place,  as  if  driven  by  a  mob,  leaving  their  clocks 
ticking,  dishes  spread  for  their  meal,  coffee-pots 
boiling,  etc.,  etc.,  and,  as  they  went,  spread  the  report 
in  every  direction  that  the  "  Mormons  "  had  driven 
them  from  their  homes,  arousing  the  inhabitants  of 
the  surrounding  country,  which  resulted  in  the  dis- 
graceful, notorious  "  exterminating  order  "  from  the 
Governor  of  the  State ;  in  accordance  therewith,  we 
left  Davies  county  for  that  of  Caldwell,  preparatory 
to  fulfilling  the  injunction  of  leaving  the  State 
"  before  grass  grows"  in  the  spring. 

The  clemency  of  our  law-abiding,  citizen-expelling 


144  THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM. 

Governor  allowed  us  ten  days  to  leave  our  county, 
and,  till  the  expiration  of  that  term,  a  posse  of 
militia  was  to  guard  us  against  mobs  ;  but  it  would 
be  very  difficult  to  tell  which  was  better,  the  militia 
or  the  mob — nothing  was  too  mean  for  the  militia 
to  perform — no  property  was  safe  within  the  reach 
of  those  men. 

One  morning,  while  we  were  hard  at  work,  pre- 
paring for  our  exit,  the  former  occupant  of  our 
house  entered,  and  in  an  impudent  and  arrogant 
manner  inquired  how  soon  we  should  be  out  of  it. 
My  American  blood  warmed  to  the  temperature  of 
an  insulted,  free-born  citizen,  as  I  looked  at  him,  and 
thought,  poor  man,  you  little  think  with  whom  you 
have  to  deal — God  lives !  He  certainly  overruled 
in  that  instance,  for  those  wicked  men  never  got 
possession  of  that  property,  although  my  father 
sacrificed  it  to  American  mobocracy. 

In  assisting  widows  and  others  who  required  help, 
my  father's  time  was  so  occupied  that  we  did  not 
start  until  the  morning  of  the  loth,  and  last  day  of 
the  allotted  grace.  The  weather  was  very  cold  and 
the  ground  covered  with  snow.  After  assisting  in 
the  arrangements  for  the  journey,  and  shivering  with 
cold,  in  order  to  warm  my  aching  feet,  I  walked 
until  the  teams  overtook  me.  In  the  mean  time,  I 
met  one  of  the  so-called  militia,  who  accosted  me 
with,  "  Well,  I  think  this  will  cure  you  of  your 
faith  !"  Looking  him  steadily  in  the  eye,  I  replied, 
"  No,  sir ;  it  will  take  more  than  this  to  cure  me  of 
my  faith."  His  countenance  suddenly  fell,  and  he 
responded,  "  I  must  confess,  you  are  a  better  soldier 
than  I  am."  I  passed  on,  thinking  that,  unless  he 


THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM.  145 

was  above  the  average  of  his  fellows  in  that  section. 

o 

I  was  not  highly  complimented  by  his  confession. 
It  is  true  our  hardships  and  privations  were  suffi- 
cient to  have  disheartened  any  but  the  saints  of  the 
living  God — those  who  were  prompted  by  higher 
than  earthly  motives,  and  trusting  in  the  arm  of 
Jehovah. 

We  were  two  days  on  our  way  to  Far  West,  and 
stopped  over  night  at  what  was  called  the  Half-way 
House,  a  log  building  perhaps  twenty  feet  square, 
with  the  chinkings  between  the  logs,  minus — they 
probably  having  been  burned  for  firewood — the 
owner  of  the  house,  Brother  Littlefield,  having  left 
with  his  family  to  escape  being  robbed ;  and  the 
north  wind  had  free  ingress  through  the  openings, 
wide  enough  for  cats  to  crawl  through.  This  had 
been  the  lodging  place  of  the  hundreds  who  had 
preceded  us,  and  on  the  present  occasion  proved 
the  almost  shelterless  shelter  of  seventy-five  or 
eighty  souls.  To  say  lodging,  would  be  a  hoax, 
although  places  were  allotted  to  a  few  aged  and 
feeble,  to  lie  down,  while  the  rest  of  us  either  sat  or 
stood,  or  both,  all  night.  My  sister  and  I  managed 
so  that  mother  lay  down,  and  we  sat  by  (on  the 
floor,  of  course),  to  prevent  her  being  trampled  on, 
for  the  crowd  was  such  that  people  were  hardly 
responsible  for  their  movements. 

It  was  past  the  middle  of  December,  and  the  cold 
was  so  intense  that,  in  spite  of  well  packing,  our 
food  was  frozen  hard,  bread  and  all,  and  although  a 
blazing  fire  was  burning  on  one  side  of  the  room, 
we  could  not  get  to  it  to  thaw  our  suppers,  and  had 
to  resort  to  the  next  expediency,  which  was  this : 

10 


146  THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM. 

The  boys^milked,  and  while  one  strained  the  milk, 
another  held  the  pan  (for  there  was  no  chance  for 
putting  anything  down)  ;  then,  while  one  held  a  bowl 
of  the  warm  milk,  another  would,  as  expeditiously 
as  possible,  thinly  slice  the  frozen  bread  into  it,  and 
thus  we  managed  for  supper.  In  the  morning,  we 
were  less  crowded,  as  some  started  very  early,  and 
we  toasted  our  bread  and  thawed  our  meat  before 
the  fire.  But,  withal,  that  was  a  very  merry  night. 
None  but  saints  can  be  happy  under  every  circum- 
stance. About  twenty  feet  from  the  house  was  a 
shed,  in  the  centre  of  which  the  brethren  built  a 
roaring  fire,  around  which  some  of  them  stood  and 
sang  songs  and  hymns  all  night,  while  others  parched 
corn  and  roasted  frosted  potatoes,  etc.  Not  a  com- 
plaint was  heard — all  were  cheerful,  and  judging 
from  appearances,  strangers  would  have  taken  us  to 
be  pleasure  excursionists  rather  than  a  band  of 
gubernatorial  exiles. 

After  the  mobbing  commenced,  although  my  father 
had  purchased,  and  had  on  hand,  plenty  of  wheat, 
he  could  get  none  ground,  and  we  were  under  the 
necessity  of  grating  corn  for  our  bread  on  graters 
made  of  tin-pails  and  stove-pipe.  I  will  here  insert 
a  few  extracts  from  a  long  poem  I  wrote  while  in 
Davies  county,  as  follows  : 

'Twas  autumn — Summer's  melting  breath  was  gone, 

And  Winter's  gelid  blast  was  stealing  on ; 

To  meet  its  dread  approach,  with  anxious  care 

The  houseless  saints  were  struggling  to  prepare ; 

When  round  about  a  desperate  mob  arose, 

Like  tigers  waking  from  a  night's  repose; 

They  came  like  hordes  from  nether  shades  let  loose — 

Men  without  hearts,  just  fit  for  Satan's  use ! 

With  wild,  demoniac  rage  they  sallied  forth, 


THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM.  147 

Resolved  to  drive  the  saints  of  God  from  earth. 
Hemm'd  in  by  foes — deprived  the  use  of  mill, 
Necessity  inspires  their  patient  skill ; 
Tin-pails  and  stove-pipe,  from  their  service  torn, 
Are  changed  to  graters  to  prepare  the  corn, 
That  Nature's  wants  may  barely  be  supplied — 
They  ask  no  treat,  no  luxury  beside. 
But,  where  their  shelter  ?   Winter  hastens  fast ; 
Can  tents  and  wagons  stem  this  northern  blast  ? 

The  scene  presented  in  the  city  of  Far  West,  as 
we  stopped  over  night  on  our  way  to  our  temporary 
location,  was  too  important  to  be  omitted,  and  too 
sad  to  narrate.  Joseph  Smith,  and  many  other 
prominent  men,  had  been  dragged  to  prison.  Their 
families,  having  been  plundered,  were  nearly  or  quite 
destitute — some  living  on  parched  corn,  others  on 
boiled  wheat ;  and  desolation  seemed  inscribed  on 
everything  but  the  hearts  of  the  faithful  saints.  In 
the  midst  of  affliction,  they  trusted  in  God. 

After  spending  the  remainder  of  the  winter  in  the 
vicinity  of  Far  West,  on  the  5th  of  March,  1839, 
leaving  much  of  our  property  behind,  we  started  for 
Illinois. 

From  the  commencement  of  hostilities  against 
us,  in  the  State  of  Missouri,  till  our  expulsion,  no 
sympathy  in  our  behalf  was  ever,  to  my  knowledge, 
expressed  by  any  of  the  former  citizens,  with  one 
single  exception,  and  that  was  so  strikingly  in  con- 
trast with  the  morbid  state  of  feeling  generally 
manifested  that  it  made  a  deep  impression  on  my 
mind,  and  I  think  it  worthy  of  record.  I  will  here 
relate  the  circumstance.  It  occurred  on  our  out- 
ward journey. 

After  a  night  of  rain  which  turned  to  snow  and 
covered  the  ground  in  the  morning,  we  thawed  our 


148  THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM. 

tent,  which  was  stiffly  frozen,  by  holding  and  turn- 
ing it  alternately  before  a  blazing  fire  until  it  could 
be  folded  for  packing  ;  and,  all  things  put  in  order, 
while  we  all  shook  with  the  cold,  we  started  on. 
As  the  sun  mounted  upwards,  the  snow  melted,  and 
increased  the  depth  of  the  mud  with  which  the  road 
before  us  had  been  amply  stocked,  and  rendered 
travel  almost  impossible.  The  teams  were  puffing, 
and  the  wagons  dragging  so  heavily  that  we  were 
all  on  foot,  tugging  along  as  best  we  could,  when 
an  elderly  gentleman,  on  horseback,  overtook  us, 
and,  after  riding  alongside  for  some  time,  apparently 
absorbed  in  deep  thought,  as  he  (after  inquiring 
who  we  were)  watched  the  women  and  girls,  men 
and  boys,  teams  and  wagons,  slowly  wending  our 
way  up  a  long  hill,  en  route  from  our  only  earthly 
homes,  and,  not  knowing  where  we  should  find  one, 
he  said  emphatically,  "  If  I  were  in  your  places,  I 
should  want  the  Governor  of  the  State  hitched  at 
the  head  of  my  teams."  I  afterwards  remarked  to 
my  father  that  I  had  not  heard  as  sensible  a  speech 
from  a  stranger  since  entering  the  State.  I  never 
saw  that  gentleman  afterwards,  but  have  from  that 
time  cherished  a  filial  respect  for  him,  and  fancy  I 
see  his  resemblance  in  the  portrait  of  Sir  Von 
Humboldt,  now  hanging  on  the  wall  before  me. 

We  arrived  in  Quincy,  111.,  where  many  of  the 
exiled  saints  had  preceded  us,  and  all  were  received 
with  generous  hospitality. 

My  father  moved  to  one  of  the  northern  counties. 
I  stopped  in  Quincy,  and,  while  there,  wrote  for  the 
press,  "An  Appeal  to  the  Citizens  of  the  United 
States,"  "  An  Address  to  the  Citizens  of  Quincy,"  and 


THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM.  149 

several  other  articles,  for  which  I  received  some 
very  flattering  encomiums,  with  solicitations  for 
effusions,  which,  probably,  were  elicited  by  the  fact 
that  they  were  from  the  pen  of  a  "  Mormon  girl." 

From  Ouincy,  my  sister,  her  two  daughters  and  I, 
went  to  Lima,  Hancock  county,  where  we  found  a 
temporary  home  under  the  roof  of  an  old  veteran 
of  the  Revolution,  who,  with  his  family,  treated  us 
with  much  kindness,  although,  through  ignorance 
of  the  character  of  the  saints,  their  feelings  were 
like  gall  towards  them  as  a  people,  which  we  knew 
to  be  the  result  of  misrepresentation.  It  was  very 
annoying  to  our  feelings  to  hear  bitter  aspersions 
against  those  whom  we  knew  to  be  the  best  people 
on  earth  ;  but,  occupying,  as  we  did,  an  upper  room 
with  a  slight  flooring  between  us  and  those  below, 
we  were  obliged  to  hear.  Frequently,  after  our 
host  had  traduced  our  people,  of  whom  he  knew 
nothing,  he  would  suddenly  change  his  tone  and 
boast  of  the  "noble  women"  he  had  in  his  house; 
41  no  better  women  ever  lived,"  etc.,  which  he  would 
have  said  of  the  Mormon  people  generally,  had  he 
known  them  as  well.  We  were  pilgrims,  and  for  the 
time  being  had  to  submit  to  circumstances.  Almost 
anything  is  preferable  to  dependence — with  these 
people  we  would  earn  our  support  at  the  tailoring 
business,  thanks  to  my  mother's  industrial  training, 
for  which  I  even  now  bless  her  dear  memory. 

In  May  the  saints  commenced  gathering  in  Com- 
merce (afterwards  Nauvoo),  and  on  the  i6th  of  July 
I  left  our  kind  host  and  hostess,  much  to  their  regret, 
Elder  Rigdon  having  sent  for  me  to  teach  his  family 
school  in  Commerce,  and,  although  I  regretted  to 


150  THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM. 

part  with  my  sister,  I  was  truly  thankful  to  be  again 
associated  with  the  body  of  the  church,  with  those 
whose  minds,  freed  from  the  fetters  of  sectarian 
creeds,  and  man-made  theology,  launch  forth  in  the 
divine  path  of  investigation  into  the  glorious  fields 
of  celestial  knowledge  and  intelligence. 


Concerning  these  times,  Sister  Bathsheba  W. 
Smith  says :  "  When  I  was  in  my  sixteenth  year, 
"some  Latter-day  Saint  elders  visited  our  neigh- 
"  borhood.  I  heard  them  preach  and  believed  what 
"  they  taught ;  I  believed  the  Book  of  Mormon  to 
"be  a  divine  record,  and  that  Joseph  Smith  was  a 
"  prophet  of  God.  I  knew  by  the  spirit  of  the  Lord, 
"  which  I  received  in  answer  to  prayer,  that  these 
'"things  were  true.  On  the  2ist  of  August,  1837,  I 
"was  baptized  into  the  Church  of  Jesus  Christ  of 
"  Latter-day  Saints,  by  Elder  Samuel  James,  in 
"  Jones'  Run,  on  the  farm  and  near  the  residence  of 
"  Augustus  Burgess,  and  was  confirmed  by  Elder 
"  Francis  G.  Bishop.  The  spirit  of  the  Lord  rested 
"  upon  me,  and  I  knew  that  he  accepted  of  me  as  a 
"  member  in  his  kingdom.  My  mother  was  baptized 
"  this  same  day.  My  sister  Sarah,  next  older  than 
"  me,  was  baptized  three  days  previously.  My  father, 
"  and  my  two  oldest  sisters,  Matilda  and  Nancy, 
"  together  with  their  husbands,  Col.  John  S.  Martin 
"and  Josiah  W.  Fleming,  were  baptized  into  the 
"same  church  soon  afterwards.  My  uncle,  Jacob 
"  Bigler,  and  his  family  had  been  baptized  a  few 
"  weeks  before.  A  part  of  my  first  experience  as  a 


THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM.  151 

"  member  of  the  church  was,  that  most  of  my  young 
"  acquaintances  and  companions  began  to  ridicule 
"  us.  The  spirit  of  gathering  with  the  saints  in 
"  Missouri  came  upon  me,  and  I  became  very  anx- 
"  ious  indeed  to  go  there  that  fall  with  my  sister 
"  Nancy  and  family,  as  they  had  sold  out  and  were 
"  getting  ready  to  go.  I  was  told  I  could  not  go 
"  This  caused  me  to  retire  to  bed  one  night  feeling 
"  very  sorrowful.  While  pondering  upon  what  had 
"  been  said  to  me  about  not  going,  a  voice  said  to 
"  me,  '  Weep  not,  you  will  go  this  fall/  I  was  satis- 
"  fied  and  comforted.  The  next  morning  I  felt  con- 
"  tented  and  happy,  on  observing  which  my  sister 
"  Sarah  said,  '  You  have  got  over  feeling  badly  about 
"  not  going  to  Zion  this  fall,  have  you  ?'  I  quietly, 
"  but  firmly,  replied,  '  I  am  going — you  will  see/ 

"  My  brother,  Jacob  G.  Bigler,  having  gone  to 
"  Far  West,  Mo.,  joined  the  church  there  and  bought 
"  a  farm  for  my  father,  and  then  returned.  About 
"  this  time  my  father  sold  his  farm  in  West  Virginia, 
"  and  fitted  out  my  mother,  my  brother,  and  my 
"  sister  Sarah,  Melissa  and  myself,  and  we  started 
"  for  Far  West,  in  company  with  my  two  brothers- 
"  in-law  and  my  uncle  and  their  families.  Father 
"  stayed  to  settle  up  his  business,  intending  to  join 
"  us  at  Far  West  in  the  spring,  bringing  with  him, 
"  by  water,  farming  implements,  house  furniture,  etc. 
"  On  our  journey  the  young  folks  of  our  party  had 
"  much  enjoyment ;  it  seemed  so  novel  and  romantic 
"  to  travel  in  wagons  over  hill  and  dale,  through 
"  dense  forests  and  over  extensive  prairies,  and  occa- 
"  sionally  passing  through  towns  and  cities,  and 
"  camping  in  tents  at  night.  On  arriving  in  Missouri 


152  THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM. 

"  we  found  the  State  preparing  to  wage  war  against 
"  the  Latter-day  Saints.  The  nearer  we  got  to  our 
"  destination,  the  more  hostile  the  people  were.  As 
"we  were  traveling  along,  numbers  of  men  would 
"  sometimes  gather  around  our  wagons  and  stop  us. 
"  They  would  inquire  who  we  were,  where  we  were 
"from,  and  where  we  were  going  to.  On  receiving 
"  answers  to  their  questions,  they  would  debate 
"  among  themselves  whether  to  let  us  go  or  not ; 
"  their  debate  would  result  generally  in  a  statement 
"  to  the  effect  of,  '  As  you  are  Virginians,  we  will  let 
"  you  go  on,  but  we  believe  you  will  soon  return,  for 
"  you  will  quickly  become  convinced  of  your  folly.' 
"Just  before  we  crossed  Grand  River,  we  camped 
"over  night  with  a  company  of  Eastern  saints.  We 
"  had  a  meeting,  and  rejoiced  together.  In  the 
"  morning  it  was  thought  best  for  the  companies  to 
"  separate  and  cross  the  river  by  two  different  fer- 
"  ries,  as  this  arrangement  would  enable  all  to  cross 
"  in  less  time.  Our  company  arrived  at  Far  West 
"  in  safety.  But  not  so  with  the  other  company ; 
"they  were  overtaken  at  Haun's  Mill  by  an  armed 
"  mob — nineteen  were  killed,  many  others  were 
"  wounded,  and  some  of  them  maimed  for  life. 

"  Three  nights  after  we  had  arrived  at  the  farm 
"  which  my  brother  had  bought,  and  which  was  four 
"  miles  south  of  the  city  of  Far  West,  word  came 
"  that  a  mob  was  gathering  on  Crooked  River,  and 
"  a  call  was  made  for  men  to  go  out  in  command  of 
"  Captain  David  W.  Patten,  for  the  purpose  of  trying 
"  to  stop  the  depredations  of  the  men,  who  were 
"whipping  and  otherwise  maltreating  our  brethren, 
"and  who  were  destroying  and  burning  property. 


THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM.  153 

"  Captain  Patten's  company  went,  and  a  battle 
"  ensued.  Some  of  the  Latter-day  Saints  were 
"  killed,  and  several  were  wounded.  I  saw  Brother 
"  James  Hendrix,  one  of  the  wounded,  as  he  was 
"  being  carried  home  ;  he  was  entirely  helpless  and 
"  nearly  speechless.  Soon  afterwards  Captain  David 
"  W.  Patten,  who  was  one  of  the  twelve  apostles, 
"was  brought  wounded  into  the  house  where  we 
"  were.  I  heard  him  bear  testimony  to  the  truth  of 
"  Mormonism.  He  exhorted  his  wife  and  all  present 
"to  abide  in  the  faith.  His  wife  asked  him  if  he 
"  had  anything  against  any  one.  He  answered,  *  No/ 
"  Elder  Heber  C.  Kimball  asked  him  if  he  would 
"remember  him  whea  he  got  home.  He  said  he 
"  would.  Soon  after  this  he  died,  without  a  struggle. 

"In  this  State  I  saw  thousands  of  mobbers  arrayed 
"  against  the  saints,  and  I  heard  their  shouts  and 
"savage  yells  when  our  prophet  Joseph  and  his 
"  brethren  were  taken  into  their  camp.  I  saw  much, 
"  very  much,  of  the  sufferings  that  were  brought 
"  upon  our  people  by  those  lawless  men.  The  saints 
"  were  forced  to  sign  away  their  property,  and  to 
"  agree  to  leave  the  State  before  it  was  time  to  put 
"  in  spring  crops.  In  these  distressing  times,  the 
"  spirit  of  the  Lord  Was  with  us  to  comfort  and  sus- 
"  tain  us,  and  we  had  a  sure  testimony  that  we  were 
"  being  persecuted  for  the  gospel's  sake,  and  that 
"  the  Lord  was  angry  with  none  save  those  who 
"  acknowledged  not  his  hand  in  all  things. 

"  My  father  had  to  lose  what  he  had  paid  on  his 
"farm;  and  in  February,  1839,  m  tne  depth  of  win- 
"  ter,  our  family,  and  thousands  of  the  saints,  were 
"  on  the  way  to'the  State  of  Illinois.  On  this  jour- 


154  THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM. 

"  ney  I  walked  many  a  mile,  to  let  some  poor  sick 
"  or  weary  soul  ride.  At  night  we  would  meet 
"  around  the  camp-fire  and  take  pleasure  in  singing 
"  the  songs  of  Zion,  trusting  in  the  Lord  that  all 
"would  yet  be  well,  and  that  Zion  would  eventually 
"  be  redeemed. 

"  In  the  spring,  father  joined  us  at  Quincy,  111. 
"  We  also  had  the  joy  of  having  our  prophet,  Joseph 
"  Smith,  and  his  brethren,  restored  to  us  from  their 
"  imprisonment  in  Missouri.  Many,  however,  had 
"  died  from  want  and  exposure  during  our  journey. 
"  I  was  sick  for  a  long  time  with  ague  and  fever, 
"  during  which  time  my  father  was  taken  severely 
"  sick,  and  died  after  suffering  seven  weeks.  It  was 
"  the  first  sickness  that  either  of  us  ever  had. 

"  In  the  spring  of  1840  our  family  moved  to 
"  Nauvoo,  in  Illinois.  Here  I  continued  my  punc- 
"  tuality  in  attending  meetings,  had  many  opportu- 
"  nities  of  hearing  Joseph  Smith  preach,  and  tried 
"  to  profit  by  his  instructions,  and  received  many 
"  testimonials  to  the  truth  of  the  doctrines  he  taught 
"  Meetings  were  held  out  of  doors  in  pleasant 
"  weather,  and  in  private  houses  when  it  was  unfa- 
"  vorable.  I  was  present  at  the  laying  of  the  corner- 
-stones of  the  foundation  of  the  Nauvoo  temple, 
"  and  had  become  acquainted  with  the  prophet 
"Joseph  and  his  family. 

"  On  the  25th  of  July,  1841,  I  was  united  in  holy 
"  marriage  to  George  Albert  Smith,  the  then 
"  youngest  member  of  the  quorum  of  the  twelve 
"  apostles,  and  first  cousin  of  the  prophet  (Elder 
"  Don  Carlos  Smith  officiating  at  our  marriage). 
"  My  husband  was  born  June  26th,  1817,  at  Potsdam. 


THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM.  155 

"  St.  Lawrence  county,  N.  Y.  When  I  became  ac- 
"  quainted  with  him  in  Virginia,  in  1837,  he  was  the 
"junior  member  of  the  first  quorum  of  seventy.  On 
"the  26th  day  of  June,  1838,  he  was  ordained  a 
"  member  of  the  High  Council  of  Adam-Ondi- 
"  Ahman,  Davies  county,  Missouri.  Just  about  the 
"break  of  day,  on  the  26th  of  April,  1839,  while 
"  kneeling  on  the  corner-stone  of  the  foundation  of 
"  the  Lord's  house  in  the  city  of  Far  West,  Cald- 
"  well  county,  Missouri,  he  was  ordained  one  of  the 
"  twelve  apostles.  Two  days  after  we  were  married, 
"  we  started,  carpet  bag  in  hand,  to  go  to  his  father's, 
"who  lived  at  Zarahemla,  Iowa  Territory,  about  a 
"  mile  from  the  Mississippi.  There  we  found  a  feast 
"  prepared  for  us,  in  partaking  of  which  my  hus- 
"  band's  father,  John  Smith,  drank  our  health,  pro- 
"  nouncing  the  blessings  of  Abraham,  Isaac  and 
"Jacob  upon  us.  I  did  not  understand  the  import 
"  of  this  blessing  as  well  then  as  I  do  now." 


Here  we  meet  another  of  these  Spartan  women 
of  Mormondom  in  the  person  of  Louisa  F.  Wells, 
the  senior  wife  of  Lieutenant-General  Daniel  H. 
Wells. 

In  July,  1837,  her  father,  Absalom  Free,  who  had 
embraced  Mormonism  in  Fayetteville,  St.  Clair 
county,  111.,  ins  the  year  1835,  emigrated  with  his 
family  to  Caldwell  county,  Mo. 

In  Caldwell,  Brother  Free  purchased  a  farm  and 
built  a  good  house.  He  was  of  the  well-to-do  farmer 
class.  With  his  ample  means  he  soon  collected  a 


156  THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM. 

fine  farming  outfit,  and  before  him  was  the  promise 
of  great  prosperity. 

The  saints  had  been  driven  out  of  Jackson  county, 
and  mobs  were  ravaging  in  Davies  county,  but  there 
was  peace  in  Caldwell  until  the  Fourth  of  July,  in 
1838,  when  the  anti-Mormons,  who  were  waiting 
and  watching  for  a  pretext,  took  occasion,  from 
some  remarks  made  by  Elder  Sidney  Rigdon,  in  a 
commemorative  speech  at  the  celebration,  to  com- 
mence a  crusade  against  the  city  of  Far  West. 

When  the  father  of  Louisa  joined  the  organiza- 
tion for  defence  of  the  city  of  Far  West,  he  left  a 
sick  son  at  home,  with  the  women  folks  of  his  own 
and  five  other  families,  who  had  gathered  there. 
These  were  left  to  defend  their  homes. 

Louisa  and  her  sister  Emeline,  with  their  cousin, 
Eliza  Free,  stood  guard,  on  a  ridge  near  the  hous'e, 
for  three  weeks,  night  and  day,  to  warn  the  families 
of  the  approach  of  the  mob..  This  sister  Emeline 
is  the  same  who  was  afterwards  so  well  known  in 
Utah  as  the  wife  of  Brigham  Young. 

While  thus  standing  guard,  one  day,  the  girls  saw 
a  troop  of  horsemen  near,  marching  with  a  red  flag 
and  the  beating  of  drums.  They  had  with  them  a 
prisoner,  on  foot,  whom  they  were  thus  triumph- 
antly marching  to  their  camp.  They  were  a  troop 
of  the  mob.  The  prisoner  was  grandfather  Andrew 
Free,  though  at  the  time  the  sisters  knew  it  not. 

It  was  almost  night.  The  horsemen  made  direct 
for  their  camp  with  their  "prisoner  of  war,"  whom 
they  had  taken,  not  in  arms,  for  he  was  aged,  yet 
was  he  a  soldier  of  the  cross,  ready  to  die  for  his 
faith. 


THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM.  157 

Already  had  the  veteran  disciple  been  doomed 
by  his  captors.  He  was  to  be  shot ;  one  escape  only 
had  they  reserved  for  him. 

Before  the  mob  tribunal  stood  the  old  man,  calm 
and  upright  in  his  integrity,  and  resolved  in  his 
faith.  No  one  was  near  to  succor  him.  He  stood 
alone,  face  to  face  with  death,  with  those  stern,  cruel 
men,  whose  class  had  shown  so  little  mercy  in  Mis- 
souri, massacring  men,  women  and  children,  at 
Haun's  Mill,  and  elsewhere  about  the  same  time. 

Then  the  captain  and  his  band  demanded  of  the 
old  man  that  he  should  swear  there  and  then  to 
renounce  Jo.  Smith  and  his  d — d  religion,  or  they 
would  shoot  him  on  the  spot. 

Drawing  himself  up  with  a  lofty  mien,  and  the 
invincible  courage  that  the  Mormons  have  always 
shown  in  their  persecutions,  the  veteran  answered : 
"  I  have  not  long  to  live.  At  the  worst  you  cannot 
"  deprive  me  of  many  days.  I  will  never  betray  or 
"deny  my  faith  which  I  know  to  be  of  God.  Here 
"  is  my  breast,  shoot  away,  I  am  ready  to  die  for  my 
11  religion  !" 

At  this  he  bared  his  bosom  and  calmly  waited  for 
the  mob  to  fire. 

But  the  band  was  abashed  at  his  fearless  bearing 
and  answer.  For  a  time  the  captain  and  his  men 
consulted,  and  then  they  told  their  prisoner  that 
they  had  decided  to  give  him  till  the  morning  to 
reconsider  whether  he  would  retract  his  faith  or 
die. 

Morning  came.  Again  the  old  man  was  before 
the  tribunal,  fearless  in  the  cause  of  his  religion  as 
he  had  been  the  previous  night.  Again  came  from 


158  THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM. 

him  a  similar  answer,  and  then  he  looked  for  death, 
indeed,  the  next  moment. 

But  he  had  conquered  his  captors,  and  the  leader 
declared,  with  an  oath  :  "  Any  man  who  can  be  so 
d — d  true  to  any  d — d  religion,  deserves  to  live  !" 

Thereupon  the  mob  released  the  heroic  disciple 
of  Mormonism,  and  he  returned  to  his  home  in  safety. 

During  the  three  weeks  the  girls  stood  on  guard, 
their  father,  who  was  desirous  to  get  tidings  of  his 
sick  son,  came  frequently  to  a  thicket  of  underbrush, 
where  the  girls  would  bring  his  food  and  communi- 
cate with  him  concerning  affairs  at  the  house. 

One  evening  during  this  season  of  guard  duty, 
the  girls  discovered  five  armed  men  approaching. 
Running  to  the  house,  they  gave  the  alarm.  In  a 
few  moments  every  woman  and  child  of  the  six 
families  were  hiding  in  the  neighboring  corn-field, 
excepting  Louisa,  her  mother  and  her  sick  brother. 

"  Mother,"  said  the  boy,  "you  and  Louisa  run  and 
"  hide.  The  mob  will  be  sure  to  kill  me.  They 
"will  see  how  tall  I  am  by  the  bed-clothes,  and  will 
"  think  I  am  a  man.  You  and  sister  Louisa  escape 
"  or  they  will  kill  you  too." 

But  the  mother  resolved  to  share  the  fate  of  her 
son,  unless  she  could  protect  him  by  her  presence, 
and  soften  the  hearts  of  savage  mobocrats  by  a 
mother's  prayers  for  mercy ;  but  she  bade  her 
daughter  fly  with  the  baby.  Louisa,  however,  also 
determined  to  stay  to  defend  both  her  brother  and 
her  mother.  So  they  armed  themselves — the  mother 
with  an  axe,  and  Louisa  with  a  formidable  pair  of 
old-fashioned  fire-tongs,  and  stationed  themselves 
at  either  door. 


THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM.  159 

But  it  turned  out  that  the  men  were  a  squad  of 
friends,  whom  the  father  had  sent  to  inquire  after 
his  family  ;  yet  the  incident  illustrates  those  days  of 
universal  terror  for  the  Mormons  in  the  State  of 
Missouri.  Worse,  even,  than  the  horrors  of  ordi- 
nary war  must  it  have  been,  when  thus  women, 
children  and  the  sick,  when  not  a  Mormon  man  was 
present  to  provoke  the  mob  to  bloodshed,  looked 
for  massacre  upon  massacre  as  daily  scenes  which 
all  in  turn  might  expect  to  overtake  them. 

After  the  fall  of  the  city  of  Far  West,  it  being 
decided  that  the  Mormons  should  make  a  grand 
exodus  from  Missouri  in  the  spring,  Mr.  Free 
determined  to  anticipate  it.  Gathering  up  what 
property  he  could  save  from  the  sacrifice,  he  started 
with  his  family  for  Illinois,  abandoning  the  beautiful 
farm  he  had  purchased  and  paid  for,  along  with  the 
improvements  he  had  made. 

In  their  flight  to  Illinois  they  were  frequently 
overtaken  and  threatened  by  mobs,  but  fortunately 
escaped  personal  violence,  as  it  was  evident  they 
were  hastening  from  the  inhospitable  State.  But 
the  inhumanity  of  the  Missourians  in  thos"e  times  is 
well  illustrated  in  the  following  incident : 

Along  with  Brother  Free's  party  were  William 
Duncan  and  Solomon  Allen,  whose  feet  were  so 
badly  frozen  one  day  that  they  were  unable  to  pro- 
ceed. At  every  house  on  the  route  the  exiles  called, 
soliciting  permission  to  shelter  and  care  for  the  dis- 
abled men  ;  but  at  every  place  they  were  turned 
away,  until  at  last,  at  eleven  o'clock  at  night,  they 
were  graciously  permitted  to  occupy  some  negro 
quarters.  The  grace,  however,  of  Missouri  was 


l6o  THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM. 

redeemed  by  a  codicil  that  "  No  d — d  Mormon 
should  stop  among"  white  folks ! " 

This  was  mercy,  indeed,  for  Missouri,  and  it  is 
written  in  the  book  of  remembrance. 

The  party  stopped  and  occupied  the  negro  quar- 
ters, nursing  the  men  during  the  night,  and  so  far 
restored  them  that  they  were  enabled  to  go  on  the 
next  day. 

Arriving  at  the  Mississippi  river,  above  St.  Charles, 
it  was  found  that  the  ice  was  running  so  fiercely 
that  it  was  well-nigh  impossible  to  cross,  but  the 
mobbers  insisted  that  they  should  cross  at  once. 

The  crossing  was  made  on  a  scow  ferry-boat, 
common  in  those  times ;  and  as  the  boat  was  near 
being  swamped  in  the  current,  to  add  to  the  horror 
of  the  incident,  it  was  seriously  proposed  by  the 
boatmen  to  throw  some  of  the  "d — d  Mormons 
overboard,"  to  lighten  the  load  !  The  proposition, 
however,  was  abandoned,  and  the  party  landed  safely 
on  the  opposite  shore. 

Having  escaped  all  the  perils  of  that  flight  from 
Missouri,  Father  Free  and  his  family  made  their 
home  in  the  more  hospitable  State  of  Illinois,  where 
the  Mormons  for  a  season  found  their  "  second  Zion." 

Here  we  leave  "  Sister  Louisa"  for  awhile,  to  meet 
her  again  in  the  grand  exodus  of  her  people  from 
"  civilization." 


The  following  experience  of  Abigail  Leonard,  a 
venerable  and  respected  lady,  now  in  her  eighty- 
second  year  of  life,  will  also  be  of  interest  in  this 
connection.  She  says : 


THE.  WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM.  l6l 

"  In  1829  Eleazer  Miller  came  to  my  house,  for 
"  the  purpose  of  holding  up  to  us  the  light  of  the 
"  gospel,  and  to  teach  us  the  necessity  of  a  change 
"of  heart.  He  did  not  teach  creedism,  for  he  did 
"  not  believe  therein.  That  night  was  a  sleepless 
"  one  to  me,  for  all  night  long  I  saw  before  me  our 
"  Saviour  nailed  to  the  cross.  I  had  not  yet  re- 
"  ceived  remission  of  my  sins,  and,  in  consequence 
"  thereof,  was  much  distressed.  These  feelings  con- 
"  tinued  for  several  days,  till  one  day,  while  walking 
"  alone  in  the  street,  I  received  the  light  of  the 
"  spirit. 

"  Not  long  after  this,  several  associated  Metho- 
"  dists  stopped  at  our  house,  and  in  the  morning, 
"  while  I  was  preparing  breakfast,  they  were  con- 
"  versing  upon  the  subject  of  church  matters,  and 
"  the  best  places  for  church  organization.  From  the 
"jottings  of  their  conversation,  which  I  caught  from 
"  time  to  time,  I  saw  that  they  cared  more  for  the 
"  fleece  than  the  flock.  The  Bible  lay  on  the  table 
"  near  by,  and  as  I  passed  I  occasionally  read  a  few 
"words  until  I  was  impressed  with  the  question: 
"  'What  is  it  that  separates  two  Christians  ? ' 

"  For  two  or  three  weeks  this  question  was  con- 
stantly on  my  mind,  and  I  read  the  Bible  and 
"  prayed  that  this  question  might  be  answered  to  me. 

"  One  morning  I  took  my  Bible  and  went  to  the 
"  woods,  when  I  fell  upon  my  knees,  and  exclaimed : 
" '  Now,  Lord,  I  pray  for  the  answer  of  this  question, 
"and  I  shall  never  rise  till  you  reveal  to  me  what  it 
"  is  that  separates  two  Christians.'  Immediately  a 
"vision  passed  before  my  eyes,  and  the  different 
"  sects  passed  one  after  another  by  me,  and  a  voice 


l62  THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM. 

"called  to  me,  saying:  '  These  are  built  up  for  gain.' 
"Then,  beyond,  I  could  see  a  great  light,  and  a  voice 
"from  above  called  out:  '  I  shall  raise  up  a  people, 
"whom  I  shall  delight  to  own  and  bless.'  I  was 
"  then  fully  satisfied,  and  returned  to  the  house. 

"  Not  long  after  this  a  meeting  was  held  at  our 
"house,  during  which  every  one  was  invited  to 
"speak;  and  when  opportunity  presented,  I  arose 
"and  said  :  '  To-day  I  come  out  from  all  names,  sects 
"and  parties,  and  take  upon  myself  the  name  of 
"  Christ,  resolved  to  wear  it  to  the  end  of  my  days.' 

"  For  several  days  afterward,  many  people  came 
"  from  different  denominations  and  endeavored  to 
"persuade  me  to  join  their  respective  churches.  At 
"length  the  associated  Methodists  sent  their  pre- 
"  siding  elder  to  our  house  to  preach,  in  the  hope 
"  that  I  might  be  converted.  While  the  elder  was 
"  discoursing  I  beheld  a  vision  in  which  I  saw  a 
"  great  multitude  of  people  in  the  distance,  and  over 
"their  heads  hung  a  thick,  dark  cloud.  Now  and 
"  then  one  of  the  multitude  would  struggle,  and  rise 
"  up  through  the  gloomy  cloud  ;  but  the  moment  his 
"  head  rose  into  the  light  above,  the  minister  would 
"strike  him  a  blow,  which  would  compel  him  to 
"  retire ;  and  I  said  in  my  heart,  '  They  will  never 
"  serve  me  so.' 

"  Not  long  after  this,  I  heard  of  the  '  Book  of 
"  Mormon/  and  when  a  few  of  us  were  gathered  at 
"  a  neighbor's  we  asked  that  we  might  have  manifes- 
"  tations  in  proof  of  the  truth  and  divine  origin  of 
"this  book,  although  we  had  not  yet  seen  it.  Our 
"  neighbor,  a  lady,  was  quite  sick  and  in  much  dis- 
" tress.  It  was  asked  that  she  be  healed,  and  imme- 


THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM.  163 

"diately  her  pain  ceased,  and  health  was  restored. 
"  Brother  Bowen  defiantly  asked  that  he  might  be 
"  slain,  and  in  an  instant  he  was  prostrated  upon  the 
"  floor.  I  requested  that  I  might  know  of  the  truth 
"of  this  book,  by  the  gift  and  power  of  the  Holy 
"  Ghost,  and  I  immediately  felt  its  presence.  Then, 
"'when  the  Book  of  Mormon  came,  we  were  ready 
"  to  receive  it  and  its  truths.  The  brethren  gathered 
"at  our  house  to  read  it,  and  such  days  of  rejoicing 
"  and  thanksgiving  I  never  saw  before  nor  since.  We 
"were  now  ready  for  baptism,  and  on  or  about  the 
"  2Oth  of  August,  1831,  were  baptized. 

"When  we  heard  of  the  'gathering,'  we  were 
"  ready  for  that  also,  and  began  preparations  for  the 
"journey.  On  the  3d  of  July,  1832,  we  started  for 
"Jackson  county,  Mo.,  where  we  arrived  some  time 
"  in  the  latter  part  of  December  of  the  same  year. 

"  Here  we  lived  in  peace,  and  enjoyed  the  bless- 
"  ings  of  our  religion  till  the  spring  of  1833,  when 
"  the  mob  came  upon  us,  and  shed  its  terror  in  our 
"  midst.  The  first  attack  was  made  upon  Indepen- 
"  dence,  about  twelve  miles  from  our  place.  The 
"  printing  press  was  destroyed,  and  the  type  scat- 
"  tered  in  the  streets.  Other  buildings,  and  their 
"furniture,  were  destroyed;  and  Bishop  Partridge 
"  was  tarred  and  feathered.  Next,  we  heard  that  the 
"  enemy  had  attacked  our  brethren  in  the  woods 
"  about  six  miles  distant.  Then  my  husband  was 
"  called  upon  to  go  and  assist  his  brethren.  He 
"arrived  on  the  field  in  the  heat  of  the  battle,  and 
"  received  fourteen  bullet-holes  in  his  garments,  but 
"  received  no  wounds,  save  two  very  slight  marks, 
"  one  on  the  hip,  the  other  on  the  arm. 


164  THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM. 

"  The  mob  was  defeated,  and  my  husband  returned 
"home  for  food.  I  gave  it  him,  and  bade  him 
"  secrete  himself  immediately.  He  did  so,  and  none 
"  too  soon ;  for  scarcely  was  he  hidden,  when  the 
"  mob  appeared.  As  soon  as  my  husband  was 
"secreted  I  took  my  children  and  went  to  a  neigh- 
"  bor's  house,  where  the  sisters  were  gathering  for 
"safety.  About  this  time  Sister  Parley  Pratt  was 
"  being  helped  from  a  sick  bed  to  this  place  of  se- 
"  curity,  and  the  mob,  seeing  the  sisters  laboring  to 
"  carry  her,  gave  their  assistance  and  carried  her  in. 
"  The  mob  then  searched  for  fire-arms,  but  could 
"  find  none. 

"The  brethren  and  the  mob  formed  a  treaty 
"  about  this  time,  in  which  we  agreed  to  abandon  the 
"country  by  a  specified  time.  Immediately  our 
"people  commenced  moving  across  the  Missouri 
"  river,  into  Clay  county.  The  people  of  Clay 
"county  becoming  alarmed  at  our  numbers,  and 
"incited  to  malice  by  the  people  of  Jackson  county, 
"cut  away  the  boat  before  all  our  people  had 
"crossed,  and  thus  compelled  our  family  with  some 
"  others  to  remain  in  Jackson  county.  There  were 
"  nine  families  in  all.  And  the  mob  came  and  drove 
"  us  out  into  the  prairie  before  the  bayonet.  It  was 
"  in  the  cold,  cheerless  month  of  November,  and 
"  our  first  night's  camp  was  made  the  thirteenth  of 
"  that  month,  so  wide-famed  as  the  night  of  falling 
"  stars.  The  next  day  we  continued  our  journey, 
"  over  cold,  frozen,  barren  prairie  ground,  many  ol 
"  our  party  barefoot  and  stockingless,  feet  and  legs 
"bleeding.  Mine  was  the  only  family  whose  feet 
"were  clothed,  and  that  day,  while  alone,  I  asked 


THE,  WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM.  165 

"the  Lord  what  I  should  do,  and  his  answer  was: 
"  '  Divide  among  the  sufferers,  and  thou  shalt  be 
"  repaid  four-fold  P  I  then  gave  till  I  had  given 
"  more  than  fifteen  pairs  of  stockings.  In  three  and 
"a  half  days  from  the  time  of  starting,  we  arrived 
"  at  a  grove  of  timber,  near  a  small  stream,  where 
"  we  encamped  for  the  winter.  From  the  time  of 
"  our  arrival  till  the  following  February  we  lived 
"  like  saints. 

"  For  awhile  our  men  were  permitted  to  return 
"to  the  settlements  in  Jackson  county,  and  haul 
"away  the  provisions  which  they  had  left  behind; 
"  but  at  last  they  would  neither  sell  to  us  nor  allow 
*'  us  any  longer  to  return  for  our  own  provisions  left 
"  behind. 

"  A  meeting  was  held,  and  it  was  decided  that  but 
"  one  thing  was  left  to  do,  which  was  to  return  to 
"Jackson  county,  to  the  place  we  had  recently  left 
"  from  compulsion.  This  we  did,  and  on  the  even- 
"  ing  of  February  20,  1834,  soon  after  our  arrival  in 
"  the  old  deserted  place,  we  had  been  to  meeting 
"  and  returned.  It  was  about  eleven  o'clock  at 
"  night,  while  we  were  comfortably  seated  around  a 
"  blazing  fire,  built  in  an  old-fashioned  Dutch  fire- 
"  place,  when  some  one  on  going  out  discovered  a 
"crowd  of  men  at  a  little  distance  from  the  house, 
"  on  the  hill.  This  alarmed  the  children,  who  ran 
"  out,  leaving  the  door  open.  In  a  moment  or  two 
"  five  armed  men  pushed  their  way  into  the  house 
"and  presented  their  guns  to  my  husband's  breast, 
"  and  demanded,  '  Are  you  a  Mormon  ?'  My  husband 
"  replied :  '  I  profess  to  belong  to  the  Church  of 
"  Christ/  They  then  asked  if  he  had  any  arms,  and 


1 66  THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMON  DOM. 

"  on  being  told  that  he  had  not,  one  of  them  said : 
"  '  Now,  d — n  you,  walk  out  doors  P  My  husband 
"was  standing  up,  and  did  not  move. 

"  Seeing  that  he  would  not  go,  one  of  them  laid 
"  down  his  gun,  clutched  a  chair,  and  dealt  a  fierce 
"  blow  at  my  husband's  head ;  but  fortunately  the 
"  chair  struck  a  beam  overhead,  which  turned  and 
"  partially  stopped  the  force  of  the  blow,  and  it  fell 
"  upon  the  side  of  his  head  and  shoulder  with  too 
"  little  force  to  bring  him  down,  yet  enough  to  smash 
"  the  chair  in  pieces  upon  the  hearth.  The  fiend 
"  then  caught  another  chair,  with  which  he  succeeded 
"  in  knocking  my  husband  down  beneath  the  stair- 
"  way.  They  then  struck  him  several  blows  with  a 
"  chair-post,  upon  the  head,  cutting  four  long  gashes 
"in  the  scalp.  The  infuriated  men  then  took  him 
"  by  the  feet  and  dragged  him  from  the  room.  They 
"  raised  him  to  his  feet,  and  one  of  them,  grasping 
"  a  large  boulder,  hurled  it  with  full  force  at  his 
"  head ;  but  he  dropped  his  head  enough  to  let  the 
"  stone  pass  over,  and  it  went  against  the  house  like 
"  a  cannon  ball.  Several  of  them  threw  him  into 
"  the  air,  and  brought  him,  with  all  their  might,  at 
"  full  length  upon  the  ground.  When  he  fell,  one 
"  of  them  sprang  upon  his  breast,  and  stamping  with 
"all  his  might,  broke  two  of  his  ribs. 

"  They  then  turned  him  upon  his  side,  and  with 
"  a  chair-post  dealt  him  many  severe  blows  upon  the 
"thigh,  which  were  heard  at  a  distance  of  one  hun- 
"  dred  and  twenty  rods.  Next  they  tore  off  his  coat 
"  and  shirt,  and  proceeded  to  whip  him  with  their 
"  gun-sticks.  I  had  been  by  my  husband  during  this 
"  whole  affray,  and  one  of  the  mob  seeing  me,  cried 


THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM.  167 

"out:  'Take  that  woman  in  the  house,  or  she  will 
"  overpower  every  devil  of  you  !'  Four  of  them  pre- 
"  sented  their  guns  to  my  breast,  and  jumping  off 
"the  ground  with  rage,  uttering  the  most  tremen- 
"  dous  oaths,  they  commanded,  me  to  go  into  the 
"house.  This  order  I  did  not  obey,  but  hastened 
"  to  my  husband's  assistance,  taking  stick  after  stick 
"  from  them,  till  I  must  have  thrown  away  twenty. 

"  By  this  time  my  husband  felt  that  he  could  hold 
."  out  no  longer,  and  raising  his  hands  toward  heaven, 
"  asking  the  Lord  to  receive  his  spirit,  he  fell  to  the 
"ground,  helpless.  Every  hand  was  stayed,  and  I 
"  asked  a  sister  who  was  in  the  house  to  assist  me 
"to  carry  him  in  doors. 

"  We  carried  him  in,  and  after  washing  his  face 
"  and  making  him  as  comfortable  as  possible,  I  went 
"  forth  into  the  mob,  and  reasoned  with  them,  tell- 
"  ing  them  that  my  husband  had  never  harmed  one 
"  of  them,  nor  raised  his  arm  in  defence  against 
"them.  They  then  went  calmly  away,  but  next 
"  day  circulated  a  report  that  they  had  killed  one 
"  Mormon. 

"  After  the  mob  had  gone,  I  sent  for  the  elder, 
"  and  he,  with  two  or  three  of  the  brethren,  came 
"  and  administered  to  my  husband,  and  he  was 
"  instantly  healed.  The  gashes  on  his  head  grew 
"  together  without  leaving  a  scar,  and  he  went  to 
"bed  comfortable.  In  the  morning  I  combed  the 
"  coagulated  blood  out  of  his  hair,  and  he  was  so 
"  well  that  he  went  with  me  to  meeting  that  same 
"  day. 

"  The  mob  immediately  held  a  meeting  and  in- 
"  formed  us  that  we  were  to  have  only  three  days  to 


l68  THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM. 

"leave  in,  and  if  we  were  not  off  by  that  time  th^ 
"  whole  party  would  be  massacred.  We  according!) 
"  prepared  to  leave,  and  by  the  time  appointed  were 
"  on  our  way  to  Clay  county.  Soon  after  our  arrival 
"in  Clay  county,  the  'Camp  of  Zion'  came,  and 
"  located  about  twenty  miles  from  us.  The  cholera 
"  broke  out  in  the  camp,  and  many  died.  Three  of 
"  the  party  started  to  where  we  lived,  but  two  died 
"on  the  way,  leaving  Mr.  Martin  Harris  to  accom- 
"  plish  the  journey  alone.  The  first  thing,  when  he 
"  saw  me,  he  exclaimed :  '  Sister  Leonard,  I  came 
"  to  your  house  to  save  my  life/  For  eight  days  my 
"  husband  and  I  worked  with  him  before  he  began 
"  to  show  signs  of  recovery,  scarcely  lying  down  to 
"take  our  rest.  While  Mr.  Harris  was  lying  sick, 
"the  prophet  Joseph  Smith  came,  with  eleven 
"others,  to  visit  him.  This  was  the  first  time  I 
"  had  ever  seen  the  prophet. 

"  The  prophet  advised  us  to  scatter  out  over  the 
"county,  and  not  congregate  too  much  together,  so 
"  that  the  people  would  have  no  cause  for  alarm. 

"  While  we  were  yet  living  in  this  place,  the  ague 
"  came  upon  my  family,  and  my  husband  lay  sick  for 
"five  months,  and  the  children  for  three.  During 
"the  whole  time  I  procured  my  own  wood,  and 
"  never  asked  any  one  for  assistance.  On  the  re- 
"  covery  of  my  husband  he  bought  a  beautiful  little 
"  farm  near  by,  where  we  lived  long  enough  to  raise 
"  one  crop,  when  the  mob  again  came  against  us, 
"  and  we  were  compelled  to  move  into  Caldwell 
"  county. 

"  When  we  arrived  there  we  moved  into  a  log 
"  cabin,  without  door,  window,  or  fireplace,  where 


THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM.  169 

"  my  husband  left  the  children  and  me,  and  returned 
"  to  Clay  county,  for  some  of  the  brethren  who  were 
"  left  behind.  During  his  absence  a  heavy  snow- 
"  storm  came,  and  we  were  without  wood  or  fire. 
"  My  little  boy  and  I,  by  turns,  cut  wood  enough  to 
"  keep  us  warm  till  my  husband  returned. 

"  Here  my  husband  entered  eighty  acres  of  land, 
"  and  subsequently  bought  an  additional  twenty 
"  acres.  Here,  too,  we  stayed  long  enough  to  raise 
"  one  crop,  and  then  moved  to  Nauvoo,  Hancock 
"  county,  Illinois. 

"  As  soon  as  we „  were  located,  we  were  all  seized 
"  with  sickness,  and  scarcely  had  I  recovered,  when 
"  there  came  into  our  midst  some  brethren  from  Eng- 
"  land,  who  were  homeless,  and  our  people  took  them 
"  in  with  their  own  families.  One  of  the  families  we 
"  took  to  live  with  us.  The  woman  was  sick,  and 
"  we  sent  for  the  elders  to  heal  her,  but  their  en- 
"  deavors  were  not  successful,  and  I  told  the  husband 
"  of  the  sick  woman  that  but  one  thing  was  left  to 
"  be  done,  which  was  to  send  for  the  sisters.  The 
"  sisters  came,  washed,  anointed,  and  administered 
"  to  her.  The  patient's  extremities  were  cold,  her 
"  eyes  set,  a  spot  in  the  back  apparently  mortified, 
"  and  every  indication  that  death  was  upon  her. 
"  But  before  the  sisters  had  ceased  to  administer, 
"  the  blood  went  coursing  through  her  system,  and 
"  to  her  extremities,  and  she  was  sensibly  better. 
"  Before  night  her  appetite  returned,  and  became 
"  almost  insatiable,  so  much  so  at  least  that,  after  I 
"  had  given  her  to  eat  all  I  dared,  she  became  quite 
"  angry  because  I  would  not  give  her  more.  In 
"  three  days  she  sat  up  and  had  her  hair  combed, 
"  and  soon  recovered." 


I7O  THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM. 

The  following  portion  of  Margaret  Foutz's  nar- 
rative will  also  be  of  interest  in  this  connection. 
She  says : 

"  I  am  the  daughter  of  David  and  Mary  Munn, 
"and  was  born  December  nth,  1801,  in  Franklin 
"county,  Pa.  I  was  married  to  Jacob  Foutz,  July 
"  22d,  1822.  In  the  year  1827  we  emigrated  to 
"  Richland  county,  Ohio.  After  living  here  a  few 
"  years,  an  elder  by  the  name  of  David  Evans  came 
"  into  the  neighborhood,  preaching  the  gospel  of 
"Jesus  Christ,  commonly  called  Mormonism.  We 
"  united  ourselves  with  the  church,  being  baptized 
"  by  Brother  Evans,  in  the  year  1834.  Subsequently 
"we  took  our  departure  for  Missouri,  to  gather  with 
"  the  saints.  We  purchased  some  land,  to  make  a 
"permanent  home,  on  Crooked  River, where  a  small 
"  branch  of  the  church  was  organized,  David  Evans 
"  being  the  president.  We  enjoyed  ourselves  ex- 
"  ceedingly  well,  and  everything  seemed  to  prosper; 
"  but  the  spirit  of  persecution  soon  began  to  make 
"  itself  manifest.  Falsehoods  were  circulated  about 
"  the  Mormon  population  that  were  settling  about 
"  that  region,  and  there  soon  began  to  be  signs  of 
"  trouble.  The  brethren,  in  order  to  protect  their 
"  families,  organized  themselves  together. 

"  Threats  being  made  by  the  mob  to  destroy  a 
"mill  belonging  to  Brother  Haun,  it  was  considered 
"  best  to  have  a  few  men  continually  at  the  mill  to 
"  protect  it.  One  day  Brother  Evans  went  and  had 
"  an  interview  with  a  Mr.  Comstock,  said  to  be  the 
"  head  man  of  the  mob.  All  things  were  amicably 
"  adjusted.  Brother  Evans  then  went  to  inform  the 
"brethren  (my  husband  being  among  them)  that  all 


THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM. 

M  was  well.  This  was  about  the  middle  of  the  after- 
"  noon,  when  Brother  Evans  returned  from  Mr. 
"  Comstock's.  On  a  sudden,  without  any  warning 
"  whatever,  sixty  or  seventy  men,  with  blackened 
"  faces,  came  riding  their  horses  at  full  speed.  The 
"  brethren  ran,  for  protection,  into  an  old  blacksmith 
"  shop,  they  being  without  arms.  The  mob  rode  up 
"  to  the  shop,  and  without  any  explanation  or  ap- 
parent cause,  began  a  wholesale  butchery,  by  firing 
11  round  after  round  through  the  cracks  between  the 
"  logs  of  the  shop.  I  was  at  home  with  my  family 
"  of  five  little  children,  and  could  hear  the  firing.  In 
"  a  moment  I  knew  the  mob  was  upon  us.  Soon  a 
"runner  came,  telling  the  women  and  children  to 
"  hasten  into  the  timber  and  secrete  themselves, 
"which  we  did,  without  taking  anything  to  keep  us 
"  warm  ;  and  had  we  been  fleeing  from  the  scalping 
"knife  of  the  Indian  we  would  not  have  made 
"  greater  haste.  And  as  we  ran  from  house  to  house, 
"  gathering  as  we  went,  we  finally  numbered  about 
"  forty  or  fifty  women  and  children.  We  ran  about 
"  three  miles  into  the  woods,  and  there  huddled  to- 
"  gether,  spreading  what  few  blankets  or  shawls  we 
"  chanced  to  have  on  the  ground  for  the  children ; 
"  and  here  we  remained  until  two  o'clock  the  next 
"  morning,  before  we  heard  anything  of  the  result  of 
"  the  firing  at  the  mill.  Who  can  imagine  our  feel- 
"  ings  during  this  dreadful  suspense  ?  And  when  the 
41  news  did  come,  oh  !  what  terrible  news  !  Fathers, 
"  brothers  and  sons,  inhumanly  butchered !  We 
"now  took  up  the  line  of  march  for  home.  Alas! 
"what  a  home!  Who  would  we  find  there?  And 
"  now,  with  our  minds  full  of  the  most  fearful  fore- 


172  THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM. 

"  bodings,  we  retraced  those  three  long,  dreary  miles. 
"  As  we  were  returning  I  saw  a  brother,  Myers,  who 
"had  been  shot  through  his  body.  In  that  dreadful 
"  state  he  crawled  on  his  hands  and  knees,  about 
"  two  miles,  to  his  home. 

"  After  I  arrived  at  my  house  with  my  children,  I 
"  hastily  made  a  fire  to  warm  them,  and  then  started 
"  for  the  mill,  about  one  mile  distant.  My  children 
"would  not  remain  at  home,  saying,  'If  father  and 
"  mother  are  going  to  be  killed,  we  want  to  be  with 
"them/  It  was  about  seven  o'clock  in  the  morning 
"when  we  arrived  at  the  mill.  In  the  first  house  I 
"came  to  there  were  three  dead  men.  One,  a 
"  Brother  McBride,  I  was  told  was  a  survivor  of  the 
"  Revolution.  He  was  a  terrible  sight  to  behold, 
"  having  been  cut  and  chopped,  and  horribly  man- 
"  gled,  with  a  corn-cutter. 

"  I  hurried  on,  looking  for  my  husband.  I  found 
"  him  in  an  old  house,  covered  with  some  rubbish. 
"  (The  mob  had  taken  the  bedding  and  clothing 
"  from  all  the  houses  near  the  mill).  My  husband 
"  had  been  shot  in  the  thigh.  I  rendered  him  all 
"the  assistance  I  could,  but  it  was  evening  before  I 
"could  get  him  home.  I  saw  thirteen  more  dead 
"bodies  at  the  shop,  and  witnessed  the  beginning  of 
"  the  burial,  which  consisted  in  throwing  the  bodies 
"  into  an  old,  dry  well.  So  great  was  the  fear  of  the 
"  men  that  the  mob  would  return  and  kill  what  few 
"  of  them  there  were  left,  that  they  threw  the  bodies 
"  in,  head  first  or  feet  first,  as  the  case  might  be. 
"  When  they  had  thrown  in  three,  my  heart  sick- 
"  ened,  and  I  turned  fainting  away. 

"  At  the   moment  of  the  massacre,  my  husband 


THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM.  175 

"  and  another  brother  drew  some  of  the  dead  bodies 
"  on  themselves,  and  pretended  to  be  dead  also,  by 
"  so  doing  saving  their  lives.  While  in  this  situation 
"  they  heard  what  the  ruffians  said  after  the  firing 
"  was  over.  Two  little  boys,  who  had  not  been  hit, 
"  begged  for  their  lives ;  but  with  horrible  oaths 
"they  put  the  muzzles  of  their  guns  to  the  chil- 
"  dren's  heads,  and  blew  their  brains  out. 

"Oh!  what  a  change  one  short  day  had  brought! 
"Here  were  my  friends,  dead  and  dying;  one  in 
"  particular  asked  me  to  give  him  relief  by  taking  a 
"  hammer  and  knocking  his  brains  out,  so  great  was 
"  his  agony.  And  we  knew  not  what  moment  our 
"  enemies  would  be  upon  us  again.  And  all  this,  not 
"  because  we  had  broken  any  law — on  the  contrary, 
"  it  was  a  part  of  our  religion  to  keep  the  laws  of 
"the  land.  In  the  evening  Brother  Evans  got  a 
"  team  and  conveyed  my  husband  to  his  house,  car- 
"  ried  him  in,  and  placed  him  on  a  bed.  I  then  had 
"  to  attend  him,  alone,  without  any  doctor  or  any 
"one  to  tell  me  what  to  do.  Six  days  afterwards  I, 
"  with  my  husband's  assistance,  extracted  the  bullet, 
"  it  being  buried  deep  in  the  thick  part  of  the  thigh, 
"and  flattened  like  a  knife.  During  the  first  ten 
"  days,  mobbers,  with  blackened  faces,  came  every 
"  day, 'cursing  and  swearing  like  demons  from  the 
"  pit,  and  declaring  that  they  would  *  kill  that  d — d 
"  old  Mormon  preacher.'  At  times  like  these,  when 
"human  nature  quailed,  I  felt  the  power  of  God 
"  upon  me  to  that  degree  that  I  could  stand  before 
"them  fearless;  and  although  a  woman,  and  alone, 
"those  demons  in  human  shape  had  to  succumb; 
"  for  there  was  a  power  with  me  that  they  knew  not 


174  THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM. 

"of.  During  these  days  of  mobocratic  violence  I 
"would  sometimes  hide  my  husband  in  the  house, 
"and  sometimes  in  the  woods,  covering  him  with 
"  leaves.  And  thus  was  I  constantly  harassed,  until 
"  the  mob  finally  left  us,  with  the  understanding  that 
"we  should  leave  in  the  spring.  About  the  middle 
"of  February  we  started  for  Quincy,  111.  Arriving 
"there,  we  tarried  for  a  short  time,  and  thence 
"  moved  to  Nauvoo." 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 

JOSEPH  SMITH'S  DARING  ANSWER  TO  THE  LORD  — 
WOMAN,  THROUGH  MORMONISM,  RESTORED  TO  HER 
TRUE  POSITION THE  THEMES  OF  MORMONISM. 

What  potent  faith  had  come  into  the  world  that 
a  people  should  thus  live  and  die  by  it  ? 

Show  us  this  new  temple  of  theology  in  which 
the  sisters  had  worshipped. 

Open  the  book  of  themes  which  constitute  the 
grand  system  of  Mormonism. 


The  disciples  of  the  prophet  believed  in  the  Book 
of  Mormon  ;  but  nearly  all  their  themes,  and  that 
vast  system  of  theology  which  Joseph  conceived,  as 
the  crowning  religion  for  a  world,  were  derived  from 
the  Hebrew  Bible,  the  New  Testament  of  Christ, 
and  modern  revelation. 

New  revelation  is  the  signature  of  Mormonism. 

The  themes  begin  with  Abraham,  rather  than 
with  Christ;  but  they  go  back  to  Adam,  and  to  the 
long  "  eternities  "  ere  this  world  was. 

Before  Adam,  was  Mormonism! 

There  are  ^^generations  of  worlds.  The  Genesis 
of  the  Gods  was  before  the  Genesis  of  Man. 


176  THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMON  DOM. 

The  Genesis  of  the  Gods  is  the  first  book  of  the 
Mormon  iliad. 

"  Then  the  Lord  answered  Job  out  of  the  whirl- 
wind, and  said,  'Who  is  this  that  darkeneth  counsel 
by  words  without  knowledge  ?  Gird  up  now  thy 
loins  like  a  man  ;  for  I  will  demand  of  thee,  and 
answer  thou  me. 

" '  Where  wast  thou  when  I  laid  the  foundations 
of  the  earth  ?  Declare  if  thou  hast  understanding. 

"'Who  hath  laid  the  measures  thereof,  if  thou 
knowest  ?  Or  who  hath  stretched  the  line  upon  it  ? 

"  '  Whereupon  are  the  foundations  thereof  fasten- 
ed ?  Or  who  laid  the  corner-stone  thereof : 

"  '  When  the  morning  stars  sang  together,  and  all 
the  sons  of  God  shouted  for  joy  ?' 

Brother  Job,  where  wast  thou  ?  Joseph  answered 
the  Lord  when  the  Masonic  question  of  the  Gods 
was  put  to  him  : 

/'Father,  I  was  with  thee;  one  of  the  'morning 
"stars '  then  ;  one  of  the  archangels  of  thy  presence." 

'Twas  a  divinely  bold  answer.  But  Joseph  was 
divinely  daring. 

The  genius  of  Mormonism  had  come  down  from 
the  empyrean ;  it  hesitated  not  to  assert  its  origin 
among  the  Gods. 

This  is  no  fanciful  treatment — no  mere  flight  to 
the  realm  of  ideals.  The  Mormons  have  literally 
answered  the  Lord,  their  Father,  the  question  which 
he  put  to  their  brother,  Job,  and  have  made  that 
answer  a  part  of  their  theology. 

But  where  was  woman  "when  the  morning  stars 
"  sang  together,  and  the  sons  of  God  shouted  for 
"joy?" 

Where  was  Zion  ?  Where  the  bride  ?  Where  was 
woman  ? 


THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMON  DOM.  177 

"  Not  yet  created  ;  taken  afterwards  from  the  rib 
"of  Adam  ;  of  the  earth,  not  of  heaven  ;  created  for 
"  Adam's  glory,  that  he  might  rule  over  her." 

So  said  not  Joseph. 

It  was  the  young  East  who  thus  declared.  The 
aged  West  had  kept  the  book  of  remembrance. 

Joseph  was  gifted  with  wonderful  memories  of  the 
"  eternities  past."  He  had  not  forgotten  woman. 
He  knew  Eve,  and  he  remembered  Zion.  He  re- 
stored woman  to  her  place  among  the  Gods,  where 
her  primeval  Genesis  is  written. 

Woman  was  among  the  morning  stars,  when  they 
sang  together  for  joy,  at  the  laying  of  the  founda- 
tions of  the  earth. 

When  the  sons  of  God  thrice  gave  their  Masonic 
shouts  of  hosanna,  the  daughters  of  God  lifted  up 
their  voices  with  their  brothers  ;  and  the  hallelujahs 
to  the  Lord  God  Omnipotent,  were  rendered  sweeter 
and  diviner  by  woman  leading  the  theme. 

In  the  temples,  both  of  the  heavens  and  the  earth, 
woman  is  found.  She  is  there  in  her  character  of 
Eve,  and  in  her  character  of  Zion.  The  one  is  the 
type  of  earth,  the  other  the  type  of  heaven  ;  the  one 
the  mystical  name  of  the  mortal,  the  other  of  the 
celestial,  woman. 

The  Mormon  prophet  rectified  the  divine  drama. 
Man  is  nowhere  where  woman  is  not.  Mormonism 
has  restored  woman  to  her  pinnacle. 

Presently  woman  herself  shall  sing  of  her  divine 
origin.  A  high  priestess  of  the  faith  shall  interpret 
the  themes  of  herself  and  of  her  Father-and-M other 
God! 

At  the  very  moment  when  the  learned  divines  of 

12 


178  THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM. 

Christendom  were  glorying  that  this  little  earth  was 
the  "be-all  and  the  end-all"  of  creation,  the  prophet 
of  Mormondom  was  teaching  the  sisters  in  the 
temple  at  Kirtland  that  there  has  been  an  eternal 
chain  of  creations  coming  down  from  the  gen- 
erations of  the  Gods — worlds  and  systems  and 
universes.  At  the  time  these  lights  of  the  Gentiles 
were  pointing  to  the  star-fretted  vault  of  immensity 
as  so  many  illuminations — lamps  hung  out  by  the 
Creator,  six  thousand  years  ago,  to  light  this  little 
earth  through  her  probation — the  prophet  of  Israel 
was  teaching  his  people  that  the  starry  hosts  were 
worlds  and  suns  and  universes,  some  of  which  had 
being  millions  of  ages  before  this  earth  had  physical 
form. 

Morever,  so  vast  is  the  divine  scheme,  and  stu- 
pendous the  works  of  creations,  that  the  prophet 
introduced  the  expressive  word  eternities.  The 
eternities  are  the  times  of  creations. 

This  earth  is  but  an  atom  in  the  immensities  of 
creations.  Innumerable  worlds  have  been  peopled 
with  "  living  souls  "  of  the  order  of  mankind  ;  innu- 
merable worlds  have  passed  through  their  proba- 
tions ;  innumerable  worlds  have  been  redeemed, 
resurrected,  and  celestialized. 

Hell-loving  apostles  of  the  sects  were  sending 
ninety-nine  hundredths  of  this  poor,  young,  forlorn 
earth  to  the  bottomless  pit.  The  Mormon  prophet 
was  finding  out  grand  old  universes,  in  exaltation 
with  scarcely  the  necessity  of  losing  a  soul. 

The  spirit  of  Mormonism  is  universal  salvation. 

Those  who  are  not  saved  in  one  glory,  may  be 
saved  in  another. 


THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM.  179 

There  are  the  "  glory  of  the  sun,"  and  the  "  glory 
41  of  the  moon,"  and  the  "  glory  of  the  stars." 

The  children  of  Israel  belong  to  the  glory  of  the 
sun.  They  kept  their  first  estate.  They  are  nobly 
trying  to  keep  their  second  estate  on  probation. 
Let  the  devotion,  the  faith,  the  divine  heroism  of 
the  Mormon  sisters,  witness  this. 

"  Adam  is  our  Father  and  God.  He  is  the  God 
"  of  the  earth." 

So  says  Brigham  Young. 

Adam  is  the  great  archangel  of  this  creation.  He 
is  Michael.  He  is  the  Ancient  of  Days.  He  is  the 
father  of  our  elder  brother,  Jesus  Christ — the 
father  of  him  who  shall  also  come  as  Messiah  to 
reign.  He  is  the  father  of  the  spirits  as  well  as  the 
tabernacles  of  the  sons  and  daughters  of  man. 
Adam! 

Michael  is  one  of  the  grand  mystical  names  in 
the  works  of  creations,  redemptions,  and  resurrec- 
tions. Jehovah  is  the  second  and  the  higher  name. 
Eloheim — signifying  the  Gods — is  the  first  name  of 
the  celestial  trinity. 

Michael  was  a  celestial,  resurrected  being,  of 
another  world. 

"  In  the  beginning  "  the  Gods  created  the  heavens 
and  the  earths. 

In  their  councils  they  said,  let  us  make  man  in 
our  own  image.  So,  in  the  likeness  of  the  Fathers, 
and  the  Mothers — the  Gods — created  they  man — 
male  and  female. 

When  this  earth  was  prepared  for  mankind, 
Michael,  as  Adam,  came  down.  He  brought  with 
him  one  of  his  wives,  and  he  called  her  name  Eve. 


l8o  THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM. 

Adam  and  Eve  are  the  names  of  the  fathers  and 
mothers  of  worlds. 

Adam  was  not  made  out  of  a  lump  of  clay,  as  we 
make  a  brick,  nor  was  Eve  taken  as  a  rib — a  bone— 
from  his  side.  They  came  by  generation.  But 
woman,  as  the  wife  or  mate  of  man,  was  a  rib  of 
man.  She  was  taken  from  his  side,  in  their  glorified 
world,  and  brought  by  him  to  earth  to  be  the  mother 
of  a  race. 

These  were  father  and  mother  of  a  world  of 
spirits  who  had  been  born  to  them  in  heaven. 
These  spirits  had  been  waiting  for  the  grand  period 
of  their  probation,  when  they  should  have  bodies 
or  tabernacles,  so  that  they  might  become,  in  the 
resurrection,  like  Gods. 

When  this  earth  had  become  an  abode  for  man- 
kind, with  its  Garden  of  Eden,  then  it  was  that  the 
morning  stars  sang  together,  and  the  sons  and 
daughters  of  God  shouted  for  joy.  They  were 
coming  down  to  earth. 

The  children  of  the  sun,  at  least,  knew  what  the 
grand  scheme  of  the  everlasting  Fathers  and  the 
everlasting  Mothers  meant,  and  they,  both  sons  and 
daughters,  shouted  for  joy.  The  temple  of  the 
eternities  shook  with  their  hosannas,  and  trembled 
with  divine  emotions. 

The  father  and  mother  were  at  length  in  their 
Garden  of  Eden.  They  came  on  purpose  to  fall. 
They  fell  u  that  man  might  be ;  and  man  is,  that  he 
"  might  have  joy."  They  ate  of  the  tree  of  mortal 
life,  partook  of  the  elements  of  this  earth  that  they 
might  again  become  mortal  for  their  children's  sake. 
They  fell  that  another  world  might  have  a  proba- 
tion, redemption  and  resurrection. 


THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM.  -    l8l 

The  grand  patriarchal  economy,  with  Adam,  as  a 
resurrected  being,  who  brought  his  wife  Eve  from 
another  world,  has  been  very  finely  elaborated,  by 
Brigham,  from  the  patriarchal  genesis  which  Joseph 
conceived. 

Perchance  the  scientist  might  hesitate  to  accept 
the  Mormon  ideals  of  the  genesis  of  mortals  and 
immortals,  but  Joseph  and  Brigham  have  very 
'much  improved  on  the  Mosaic  genesis  of  man.  It 
is  certainly  not  scientific  to  make  Adam  as  a  model 
adobe ;  the  race  has  come  by  generation.  The 
genesis  of  a  hundred  worlds  of  his  family,  since  his 
day,  does  not  suggest  brickyards  of  mortality.  The 
patriarchal  economy  of  Mormonism  is  at  least  an 
improvement,  and  is  decidedly  epic  in  all  its  con- 
structions and  ideals. 

A  grand  patriarchal  line,  then,  down  from  the 
"  eternities  ; "  generations  of  worlds  and  generations 
of  Gods  ;  all  one  universal  family. 

The  Gods  are  the  fathers  and  the  mothers,  and 
the  brothers  and  the  sisters,  of  the  saints. 

Divine  ambitions  here ;  a  daring  genius  to  thus 
conceive ;  a  lifting  up  of  man  and  woman  to  the 
very  plane  of  the  celestials,  while  yet  on  earth. 

Now  for  the  father  and  the  children  of  the  cove- 
nant. 

With  Abraham  begins  the  covenant  of  Israel. 
The  Mormons  are  a  Latter-day  Israel. 

God  made  a  covenant  with  Abraham,  for  Abra- 
ham was  worthy  to  be  the  grand  patriarch  of  a  world, 
under  Adam.  Like  Jesus,  he  had  a  p  re-existence. 

He  was  "  in  the  beginning"  with  God;  an  arch- 
angel in  the  Father's  presence ;  one  not  less  noble 


l82  THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM. 

than  his  elder  brother  and  captain  of  salvation  ;  the 
patriarch,  through  whose  line  Messiah  was  ordained 
to  come  into  the  world. 

Abraham  was  the  elect  of  God  before  the  foun- 
dation of  this  earth.  In  him  and  his  seed  were  all 
the  promises — all  the  covenants — and  all  the  divine 
empires.  In  them  was  the  kingdom  of  Messiah  to 
consummate  the  object  and  vast  purposes  of  earth's 
creation. 

He  is  the  father  of  the  faithful  and  the  friend  of 
God.  In  him  and  his  seed  all  the  nations  of  the 
earth  shall  be  blessed.  He  shall  become  the  father 
of  many  nations.  His  seed  shall  be  as  the  sand  on 
the  sea-shore. 

In  Abraham  many  nations  have  already  been 
blessed.  He  and  his  seed  have  given  Bible  and 
civilization  to  Christendom.  From  his  loins  came 
Jesus — from  him  will  come  Messiah. 

Abraham  and  his  seed  have  done  much  for  the 
world,  but  they  will  do  a  hundred  fold  more.  Their 
genius,  their  prophets,  and  their  covenants,  will 
leaven  and  circumscribe  all  civilization. 

Jehovah  is  the  God  of  Israel — the  covenant  peo- 
ple. There  is  none  like  him  in  all  the  earth.  There 
are  Lords  many,  and  Gods  many,  but  unto  Israel 
there  is  but  one  God. 

Between  Jehovah  and  Abraham  there  are  the 
everlasting  covenants.  The  divine  epic  is  between 
Abraham  and  his  God. 

Mormonism  is  now  that  divine  epic. 

This  grand  patriarch  may  be  sard  to  be  a  grand 
Mormon  ;  or,  better  told,  the  Mormons  are  a  very 
proper  Israel,  whom  the  patriarch  acknowledges  as 


THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM.  183 

his  children,  chosen  to  fulfill  the  covenants  in  con- 
nection with  the  Jews. 

Jehovah  never  made  any  covenants  outside  of 
Israel.  The  Gentiles  are  made  partakers,  by  adop- 
tion into  the  Abrahamic  family. 

All  is  of  election  and  predestination.  There  is 
but  very  little  free-grace ;  just  enough  grace  to  give 
the  Gentiles  room  to  enter  into  the  family  of  Israel, 
that  the  promise  may  be  fulfilled  that  in  Israel  all 
the  nations  of  the  earth  shall  be  blessed. 

In  ancient  times  Jehovah  made  his  people  a 
nation,  that  his  name  might  be  glorified.  He  estab- 
lished his  throne  in  David,  by  an  everlasting  cove- 
nant ;  but  the  throne  and  sceptre  were  taken  from 
Israel,  no  more  to  be,  until  he  comes  whose  right  it 
is  to  reign.  Messiah  is  that  one.  He  is  coming  to 
restore  the  kingdom  to  Israel. 

The  earth  and  mankind  were  created  that  they 
might  have  a  probation  ;  and  a  probation,  that  a 
millennial  reign  of  peace  and  righteousness  may 
consummate  the  divine  plan  and  purposes. 

Righteousness  and  justice  must  be  established 
upon  the  earth  in  the  last  days,  or  nations  must 
perish  utterly. 

In  the  last  days  God  shall  set  up  a  kingdom  upon 
the  earth,  which  shall  never  be  destroyed.  It  will 
break  into  pieces  all  other  kingdoms  and  empires, 
and  stand  forever.  It  will  be  given  to  the  saints  of 
the  Most  High,  and  they  will  possess  it.  The  Mor- 
mons are  the  saints  of  the  Most  High. 

That  kingdom  has  already  been  set  up,  by  the 
administration  of  angels  to  Joseph  Smith.  This  is 
the  burden  of  Mormonism.  It  was  for  that  the 


184  THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM. 

saints  were  driven  from  Missouri  and  Illinois ;  that 
for  which  they  made  their  exodus  to  the  Rocky 
Mountains ;  that  for  which  the  sisters  have  borne 
the  cross  for  half  a  century. 

Now  also  in  the  present  age  is  to  be  fulfilled  the 
vision  of  Daniel ;  here  it  is  : 

"  I  beheld  till  thrones  were  cast  down,  and  the 
Ancient  of  Days  (Adam)  did  sit,  whose  garments 
were  white  as  snow,  and  the  hair  of  his  head  like 
the  pure  wool;  his  throne  was  like  the  fiery  flame, 
and  his  wheels  as  burning  fire. 

11  A  fiery  stream  issued  and  came  forth  from  before 
him  ;  thousands  ministered  unto  him,  and  ten  thou- 
sand times  ten  thousand  stood  before  him ;  the 

judgment  was  set,  and  the  books  were  opened. 
*  *  *  *  *  * 

"  I  saw  in  the  night  visions,  and,  behold,  one  like 
the  Son  of  Man  came  with  the  clouds  of  heaven, 
and  came  to  the  Ancient  of  Days,  and  they  brought 
him  near  before  him. 

"  And  there  was  given  him  dominion  and  glory, 
and  a  kingdom,  that  all  people,  nations  and  lan- 
guages, should  serve  him  ;  his  dominion  is  an  ever- 
lasting dominion,  which  shall  not  pass  away,  and 

his  kingdom  that  which  shall  not  be  destroyed. 
****** 

"  But  the  saints  of  the  Most  High  shall  take  the 
kingdom,  and  possess  the  kingdom  forever,  even 
forever  and  ever. 

"  I  beheld,  and  the  same  horn  made  war  with  the 
saints,  and  prevailed  against  them. 

"  Until  the  Ancient  of  Days  came,  and  judgment 
was  given  to  the  saints  of  the  Most  High ;  and  the 

time  came  that  the  saints  possessed  the  kingdom. 
****** 

"  And  the  kingdom  and  dominion,  and  the  great- 
ness of  the  kingdom  under  the  whole  heaven,  shall 


THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM.  185 

be  given  to  the  saints  of  the  Most  High,  whose 
kingdom  is  an  everlasting  kingdom,  and  all  domin- 
ions shall  serve  and  obey  him." 


Here  is  the  imperial  drama  of  Mormonism  which 
the  saints  have  applied  most  literally,  and  sought  to 
work  out  in  America ;  or,  rather  the  God  of  Israel 
has  purposed  to  fulfill  his  wondrous  scheme,  in  them, 
and  multiply  them  until  they  shall  be  an  empire  of 
God-fearing  men  and  women — ten  thousand  times 
ten  thousand  saints. 

No  wonder  that  Missouri  drove  the  saints — no 
wonder  that  the  sisters,  with  such  views,  have  risen 
to  such  sublime  heroism  and  been  inspired  with  such 
exalted  faith.  Scarcely  to  be  wondered  at  even 
that  they  have  been  strong  enough  to  bear  their 
crosses  throughout  eventful  lives,  which  have  no 
parallel  in  history.  With  a  matchless  might  of 
spirit,  and  divine  ambitions,  inspired  by  such  a 
theology,  literally  applied  in  the  action  of  their  lives, 
they  have  risen  to  the  superhuman. 

Comprehend  this  Hebraic  religion  of  the  sisters, 
and  it  can  thus  be  comprehended  somewhat  how 
they  have  borne  the  cross  of  polygamy,  with  more 
than  the  courage  of  martyrs  at  the  stake. 

We  are  coming  to  polygamy,  by-and-by,  to  let 
these  braver  than  Spartan  women  speak  for  them- 
selves, upon  their  own  special  subject ;  but  polygamy 
was  not  established  until  years  after  the  saints  were 
driven  from  Missouri. 

We  are  but  opening  these  views  of  Hebraic  faith 
and  religion.  The  themes  will  return  frequently  in 
their  proper  places.  But  let  the  sisters  most  reveal 


l86  THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM. 

themselves  in  their  expositions,  episodes,  and  testi- 
monies. 

Thus,  here,  the  high  priestess  of  Mormondom, 
with  her  beautiful  themes  of  our  God-Father  and 
our  God-Mother ! 


CHAPTER   XIX. 

ELIZA  R.  SNOW'S   INVOCATION THE    ETERNAL  FATHER 

AND    MOTHER ORIGIN  OF    THE  SUBLIME  THOUGHT 

POPULARLY   ATTRIBUTED    TO  THEODORE   PARKER 

BASIC    IDEA    OF    THE    MORMON    THEOLOGY. 

Joseph  endowed  the  church  with  the  genesis  of  a 
grand  theology,  and  Brigham  has  reared  the  colos- 
sal fabric  of  a  new  civilization ;  but  woman  herself 
must  sing  of  her  celestial  origin,  and  her  relation- 
ship to  the  majesty  of  creation. 

Inspired  by  the  mystic  memories  of  the  past, 
Eliza  R.  Snow  has  made  popular  in  the  worship  of 
the  saints  a  knowledge  of  the  grand  family,  in  our 
Primeval  spirit-home.  The  following  gem,  which 
opens  the  first  volume  of  her  poems,  will  give  at 
once  a  rare  view  of  the  spiritual  type  of  the  high 
priestess  of  the  Mormon  Church,  and  of  the  divine 
drama  of  Mormonism  itself.  It  is  entitled,  "  Invo- 
cation; or,  the  Eternal  Father  and  Mother* 

O !  my  Father,  thou  that  dwellest 

In  the  high  and  holy  place ; 
When  shall  I  regain  thy  presence, 

And  again  behold  thy  face  ? 

In  thy  glorious  habitation, 

Did  my  spirit  once  reside  ? 
In  my  first  primeval  childhood, 

Was  I  nurtured  by  thy  side  ? 


.    l88  THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM. 

For  a  wise  and  glorious  purpose, 

Thou  hast  placed  me  here  on  earth ; 
And  withheld  the  recollection 

Of  my  former  friends  and  birth. 

Yet  oft-times  a  secret  something, 

Whisper'd,  "  You're  a  stranger  here;'* 

And  I  felt  that  I  had  wandered 
From  a  more  exalted  sphere. 

I  had  learned  to  call  thee  Father, 

Through  thy  spirit  from  on  high; 
But  until  the  key  of  knowledge 

Was  restored,  I  knew  not  why.    • 

In  the  heavens  are  parents  single  ? 

No;  the  thought  makes  reason  stare; 
Truth  is  reason ;  truth  eternal, 

Tells  me  I've  a  Mother  there. 

When  I  leave  this  frail  existence — 

When  I  lay  this  mortal  by, 
Father,  Mother,  may  I  meet  you 

In  your  royal  court  on  high  ? 

Then  at  length,  when  I've  completed 

All  you  sent  me  forth  to  do, 
With  your  mutual  approbation, 

Let  me  come  and  dwell  with  you. 

A  divine  drama  set  to  song.  And  as  it  is  but  a 
choral  dramatization,  in  the  simple  hymn  form,  ol 
.  the  celestial  themes  revealed  through  Joseph  Smith, 
it  will  strikingly  illustrate  the  vast  system  of  Mor- 
mon theology,  which  links  the  heavens  and  the 
earths. 

It  is  well  remembered  what  an  ecstacy  filled  the 
minds  of  the  transcendental  Christians  of  America, 
when  the  voice  of  Theodore  Parker,  bursting  into 
the  fervor  of  a  new  revelation,  addressed,  in  prayer, 
our  Father  and  Mother  in  heaven  ! 


THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM.  189 

An  archangel  proclamation  that ! 

Henceforth  shall  the  mother  half  of  creation  be 
worshipped  with  that  of  the  God-Father ;  and  in 
that  worship  woman,  by  the  very  association  of 
ideas,  shall  be  exalted  in  the  coming  civilization. 

Wonderful  revelation,  Brother  Theodore  ;  worthy 
thy  glorious  intellect !  Quite  as  wonderful  that  it 
was  not  universal  long  before  thy  day ! 

But  it  will  be  strange  news  to  many  that  years 
before  Theodore  Parker  breathed  that  theme  in 
public  prayer,  the  Mormon  people  sang  their  hymn 
of  invocation  to  the  Father  and  Mother  in  heaven, 
given  them  by  the  Hebraic  pen  of  Eliza  R.  Snow. 

And  in  this  connection  it  will  be  proper  to  relate 
the  fact  that  a  Mormon  woman  once  lived  as  a  ser- 
vant in  the  house  of  Theodore  Parker.  With  a 
disciple's  pardonable  cunning  she  was  in  the  habit 
of  leaving  Mormon  books  in  the  way  of  her  master. 
It  is  not  unlikely  that  the  great  transcendentalist 
had  read  the  Mormon  poetess'  hymn  to  "  Our 
Father-and-Mother  God !" 

And  perhaps  it  will  appear  still  more  strange  to 
the  reader,  who  may  have  been  told  that  woman  in 
the  Mormon  scheme  ranked  low — almost  to  the 
barbarian  scale — to  learn  that  the  revelation  of  the 
Father  and  Mother  of  creation,  given  through  the 
Mormon  prophet,  and  set  to  song  by  a  kindred 
spirit,  is  the  basic  idea  of  the  whole  Mormon  the- 
ology. 

The  hymn  of  invocation  not  only  treats  our  God 
parents  in  this  grand  primeval  sense,  but  the  poetess 
weaves  around  their  parental  centre  the  divine 
drama  of  the  pre-existence  of  worlds. 


THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM. 

This  celestial  theme  was  early  revealed  to  the 
church  by  the  prophet,  and  for  now  nearly  forty 
years  the  hymn  of  invocation  has  been  familiar  in 
the  meetings  of  the  saints. 

A  marvel  indeed  is  this,  that  at  the  time  modern 
Christians,  and  even  "  philosophers,"  were  treating 
this  little  earth,  with  its  six  thousand  years  of  mor- 
tal history,  as  the  sum  of  the  intelligent  universe— 
to  which  was  added  this  life's  sequel,  with  the  gloom 
of  hell  prevailing — the  Mormon  people,  in  their 
very  household  talk,  conversed  and  sang  of  an  end- 
less succession  of  worlds. 

They  talked  of  their  own  pre-existing  lives.  They 
came  into  the  divine  action  ages  ago,  played  their 
parts  in  a  primeval  state,  and  played  them  well. 
Hence  were  they  the  first  fruits  of  the  gospel.  They 
scarcely  limited  their  pre-existing  lives  to  a  begin- 
ning, or  compassed  their  events,  recorded  in  other 
worlds,  in  a  finite  story.  Down  through  the  cycles 
of  all  eternity  they  had  come,  and  they  were  now 
entabernacled  spirits  passing  through  a  mortal  pro- 
bation. 

It  was  of  such  a  theme  that  "  Sister  Eliza  "  sang ; 
and  with  such  a  theme  her  hymn  of  invocation  to 
our  Father  and  Mother  in  heaven  soon  made  the 
saints  familiar  in  every  land. 

Let  us  somewhat  further  expound  the  theme  of 
this  hymn,  which  our  poetess  could  not  fully  embody 
in  the  simple  form  of  verse. 

God  the  Father  and  God  the  Mother  stand,  in 
the  grand  pre-existing  view,  as  the  origin  and  centre 
of  the  spirits  of  all  the  generations  of  mortals  who 
had  been  entabernacled  on  this  earth. 


THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM. 

First  and  noblest  of  this  great  family  was  Jesus 
Christ,  who  was  the  elder  brother,  in  spirit,  of  the 
whole  human  race.  These  constituted  a  world- 
family  of  pre-existing  souls. 

Brightest  among  these  spirits,  and  nearest  in  the 
circle  to  our  Father  and  Mother  in  heaven  (the 
Father  being  Adam),  were  Seth,  Enoch,  Noah  and 
Abraham,  Moses,  David,  and  Jesus  Christ — indeed 
that  glorious  cohort  of  men  and  women,  whose  lives 
have  left  immortal  records  in  the  world's  history. 
Among  these  the  Mormon  faith  would  rank  Joseph 
Smith,  Brigham  Young,  and  their  compeers. 

In  that  primeval  spirit-state,  these  were  also  asso- 
ciated with  a  divine  sisterhood.  One  can  easily 
imagine  the  inspired  authoress  of  the  hymn  on  pre- 
existence,  to  have  been  a  bright  angel  among  this 
sister  throng.  Her  hymn  is  as  a  memory  of  that 
primeval  life,  and  her  invocation  is  as  the  soul's 
yearning  for  the  Father  and  Mother  in  whose  courts 
she  was  reared,  and  near  whose  side  her  spirit  was 
nurtured. 

These  are  the  sons  and  daughters  of  Adam — the 
Ancient  of  Days — the  Father  and  God  of  the  whole 
human  family.  These  are  the  sons  and  daughters 
of  Michael,  who  is  Adam,  the  father  of  the  spirits 
of  all  our  race. 

These  are  the  sons  and  daughters  of  Eve,  the 
Mother  of  a  world. 

What  a  practical  Unitarianism  is  this !  The 
Christ  is  not  dragged  from  his  heavenly  estate,  to 
be  mere  mortal,  but  mortals  are  lifted  up  to  his 
celestial  plane.  He  is  still  the  God-Man ;  but  he  is 
one  among  many  brethren  who  are  also  God-Men. 


IQ2  THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM. 

Moreover,  Jesus  is  one  of  a  grand  order  of 
Saviours.  Every  world  has  its  distinctive  Saviour, 
and  every  dispensation  its  Christ. 

There  is  a  glorious  Masonic  scheme  among  the 
Gods.  The  everlasting  orders  come  down  to  us 
with  their  mystic  and  official  names.  The  heavens 
and  the  earths  have  a  grand  leveling ;  not  by  pull- 
ing down  celestial  spheres,  but  by  the  lifting  up  of 
mortal  spheres. 

Perchance  the  skeptic  and  the  strict  scientist  who 
measures  by  the  cold  logic  of  facts,  but  rises  not  to 
the  logic  of  ideas,  might  not  accept  this  literal  pre- 
existing view,  yet  it  must  be  confessed  that  it  is  a 
lifting  up  of  the  idealities  of  man's  origin.  Man  is 
the  offspring  of  the  Gods.  This  is  the  supreme 
conception  which  gives  to  religion  its  very  soul. 
Unless  man's  divinity  comes  in  somewhere,  religion 
is  the  wretchedest  humbug  that  ever  deluded  mor- 
tals. 

Priestcraft,  indeed,  then,  from  the  beginning  to 
the  end — from  the  Alpha  to  the  Omega  of  theo- 
logic  craft,  there  is  nothing  divine. 

But  the  sublime  and  most  primitive  conception 
of  Mormonism  is,  that  man  in  his  essential  being  is 
divine,  that  he  is  the  offspring  of  God — that  God  is 
indeed  his  Father. 

And  woman  ?  for  she  is  the  theme  now. 

Woman  is  heiress  of  the  Gods.  She  is  joint  heir 
with  her  elder  brother,  Jesus  the  Christ  ;  but  she 
inherits  from  her  God-Father  and  her  God-Motherr 
Jesus  is  the  "  beloved  "  of  that  Father  and  Mother— 
their  well-tried  Son,  chosen  to  work  out  the  salva- 
tion and  exaltation  of  the  whole  human  family. 


THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM.  193 

And  shall  it  not  be  said  then  that  the  subject  rises 
from  the  God-Father  to  the  God-Mother  ?  Surely  it 
is  a  rising  in  the  sense  of  the  culmination  of  the 
divine  idea.  The  God-Father  is  not  robbed  of  his 
everlasting  glory  by  this  maternal  completion  of  him- 
self. It  is  an  expansion  both  of  deity  and  humanity. 

They  twain  are  one  God ! 

The  supreme  Unitarian  conception  is  here ;  the 
God-Father  and  the  God-Mother  !  The  grand  unity 
of  God  is  in  them — in  the  divine  Fatherhood  and 
the  divine  Motherhood — the  very  beginning  and 
consummation  of  creation.  Not  in  the  God-Father 
and  the  God-Son  can  the  unity  of  the  heavens  and 
the  earths  be  worked  out ;  neither  with  any  logic  of 
facts  nor  of  idealities.  In  them  the  Masonic  trini- 
ties ;  in  the  everlasting  Fathers  and  the  everlasting 
Mothers  the  unities  of  creations. 

Our  Mother  in  heaven  is  decidedly  a  new  revela- 
tion, as  beautiful  and  delicate  to  the  masculine  sense 
of  the  race  as  it  is  just  and  exalting  to  the  feminine. 
It  is  the  woman's  own  revelation.  Not  even  did 
Jesus  proclaim  to  the  world  the  revelation  of  our 
Mother  in  heaven — co-existent  and  co-equal  with 
the  eternal  Father.  This  was  left,  among  the  unre- 
vealed  truths,  to  the  present  age,  when  it  would 
seem  the  woman  is  destined  by  Providence  to 
become  very  much  the  oracle  of  a  new  and  pecu- 
liar civilization. 

The  oracle  of  this  last  grand  truth  of  woman's 
divinity  and  of  her  eternal  Mother  as  the  partner 
with  the  Father  in  the  creation  of  worlds,  is  none 
other  than  the  Mormon  Church.  It  was  revealed 
in  the  glorious  theology  of  Joseph,  and  established 


194  THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM. 

by  Brigham  in  the  vast  patriarchal  system  which  he 
has  made  firm  as  the  foundations  of  the  earth,  by 
proclaiming  Adam  as  our  Father  and  God.  The 
Father  is  first  in  name  and  order,  but  the  Mother 
is  with  him — these  twain,  one  from  the  beginning. 

Then  came  our  Hebraic  poetess  with  her  hymn 
of  invocation,  and  woman  herself  brought  the  per- 
fected idea  of  deity  into  the  forms  of  praise  and 
worship.  Is  not  this  exalting  woman  to  her  sphere 
beyond  all  precedent  ? 

Let  it  be  marked  that  the  Roman  Catholic  idea 
of  the  Mother  of  God  is  wonderfully  lower  than  the 
Mormon  idea.  The  Church  of  Rome  only  brings 
the  maternal  conception,  linked  with  deity,  in  Christ, 
and  that  too  in  quite  the  inferior  sense.  It  is  not 
primitive — it  is  the  exception  ;  it  begins  and  ends 
with  the' Virgin  Mary.  A  question  indeed  whether 
it  elevates  womanhood  and  motherhood.  The  ordi- 
nary idea  is  rather  the  more  exalted ;  for  that 
always,  in  a  sense,  makes  the  mother  superior  to  the 
son.  The  proverb  that  great  mothers  conceive  great 
sons  has  really  more  poetry  in  it  than  the  Roman 
Catholic  doctrine  that  Mary  was  the  Mother  of  God. 

The  Mormon  Church  is  the  oracle  of  the  grandest 
conception  of  womanhood  and  motherhood.  And 
from  her  we  have  it  as  a  revelation  to  the  world,  and 
not  a  mere  thought  of  a  transcendental  preacher — 
a  glorious  Theodore  Parker  flashing  a  celestial  ray 
upon  the  best  intellects  of  the  age. 

Excepting  the  Lord's  prayer,  there  is  not  in  the 
English  language  the  peer  of  this  Mormon  invoca- 
tion ;  and  strange  to  say  the  invocation  is  this  time 
given  to  the  Church  through  woman — the  pro- 
phetess and  high  priestess  of  the  faith. 


CHAPTER  XX. 

"     ' 

THE    TRINITY     OF     MOTHERHOOD EVE,     SARAH,     AND 

ZIONi — THE     MORMON     THEORY     CONCERNING    OUR 
FIRST    PARENTS. 

A  trinity  of  Mothers! 

The  celestial  Masonry  of  Womanhood ! 

The  other  half  of  the  grand  patriarchal  economy 
of  the  heavens  and  the  earths  ! 

The  book  of  patriarchal  theology  is  full  of  new 
conceptions.  Like  the  star-bespangled  heavens — 
like  the  eternities  which  it  mantles — is  that  won- 
drous theology ! 

New  to  the  world,  but  old  as  the  universe.  'Tis 
the  everlasting  book  of  immortals,  unsealed  to  mor- 
tal view,  by  these  Mormon  prophets. 

A  trinity  of  Mothers — Eve  the  Mother  of  a  world  ; 
Sarah  the  Mother  of  the  covenant ;  Zion  the  Mother 
of  celestial  sons  and  daughters — the  Mother  of  the 
new  creation  of  Messiah's  reign,  which  shall  give  to 
earth  the  crown  of  her  glory  and  the  cup  of  joy 
after  all  her  ages  of  travail. 

Still  tracing  down  the  divine  themes  of  Joseph; 
still  faithfully  following  the  methods  of  that  vast 
patriarchal  economy  which  shall  be  the  base  of  a 
new  order  of  society  and  of  the  temple  of  a  new 
civilization. 


196  THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM. 

When  Brigham  Young  proclaimed  to  the  nations 
that  Adam  was  our  Father  and  God,  and  Eve,  his 
partner,  the  Mother  of  a  world — both  in  a  mortal 
and  a  celestial  sense — he  made  the  most  important 
revelation  ever  oracled  to  the  race  since  the  days  of 
Adam  himself. 

This  grand  patriarchal  revelation  is  the  very  key- 
stone of  the  "  new  creation  "  of  the  heavens  and  the 
earth.  It  gives  new  meaning  to  the  whole  system 
of  theology — as  much  new  meaning  to  the  economy 
of  salvation  as  to  the  economy  of  creation.  By  the 
understanding  of  the  works  of  the  Father,  the 
works  of  the  Son  are  illumined. 

The  revelation  was  the  "  Let  there  be  light"  again 
pronounced.  "  And  there  was  light !  " 

"  And  God  created  man  in  his  own  image ;  in  the 
image  of  God  created  he  him ;  male  and  female 
created  he  them. 

"  And  God  blessed  them ;  and  God  said  unto 
them,  be  fruitful,  and  multiply,  and  replenish  the 
earth,  and  subdue  it." 

Here  is  the  very  object  of  man  and  woman's  ere- 
ation  exposed  in  the  primitive  command.  The  first 
words  of  their  genesis  are, "  Be  fruitful  and  multiply." 

So  far,  it  is  of  but  trifling  moment  how  our  "  first 
"  parents  "  were  created  ;  whether  like  a  brick,  with 
the  spittle  of  the  Creator  and  the  dust  of  the  earth, 
or  by  the  more  intelligible  method  of  generation. 
The  prime  object  of  man  and  woman's  creation  was 
for  the  purposes  of  creation. 

"  Be  fruitful,  and  multiply  and  replenish  the  earth, 
"  and  subdue  it,"  by  countless  millions  of  your  off- 
spring. 


THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM.  197 

Thus  opened  creation,  and  the  womb  of  everlast- 
ing motherhood  throbbed  with  divine  ecstacy. 

It  is  the  divine  command  still.  All  other  maybe 
dark  as  a  fable,  of  the  genesis  of  the  race,  but  this 
is  not  dark.  Motherhood  to  this  hour  leaps  for  joy 
at  this  word  of  God,  "  Be  fruitful ; "  and  motherhood 
is  sanctified  as  by  the  holiest  sacrament  of  nature. 

We  shall  prefer  Brigham's  expounding  of  the  dark 
passages  of  Genesis. 

Our  first  parents  were  not  made  up  like  mortal 
bricks.  They  came  to  be  the  Mother  and  the 
Father  of  a  new  creation  of  souls. 

We  say  Mother  now,  first,  for  we  are  tracing  this 
everlasting  theme  of  motherhood,  in  the  Mormon 
economy,  without  which  nothing  of  the  woman  part 
of  the  divine  scheme  can  be  known — next  to  noth- 
ing of  patriarchal  marriage,  to  which  we  are  travel- 
ing, be  expounded. 

Eve — immortal  Eve — came  down  to  earth  to 
become  the  Mother  of  a  race. 

How  become  the  Mother  of  a  world  of  mortals 
except  by  herself  again  becoming  mortal  ?  How 
become  mortal  only  by  transgressing  the  laws  of 
immortality?  How  only  by  " eating  of  the  forbid- 
"  den  fruit" — by  partaking  of  the  elements  of  a 
mortal  earth,  in  which  the  seed  of  death  was  every- 
where scattered  ? 

All  orthodox  theologians  believe  Adam  and  Eve 
to  have  been  at  first  immortal,  and  all  acknowledge 
the  great  command,  "  Be  fruitful  and  multiply." 

That  they  were  not  about  to  become  the  parents 
of  a  world  of  immortals  is  evident,  for  they  were  on 
a  mortal  earth.  That  the  earth  was  mortal  all 


198 


THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM. 


nature  here  to-day  shows.  The  earth  was  to  be 
subdued  by  teeming  millions  of  mankind — the  dying 
earth  actually  eaten,  in  a  sense,  a  score  of  times,  by 
the  children  of  these  grand  parents. 

The  fall  is  simple.  Our  immortal  parents  came 
down  to  fall ;  came  down  to  transgress  the  laws  of 
immortality;  came  down  to  give  birth  to  mortal 
tabernacles  for  a  world  of  spirits. 

The  "  forbidden  tree,"  says  Brigham,  contained  in 
its  fruit  the  elements  of  death,  or  the  elements  of 
mortality.  By  eating  of  it,  blood  was  again  infused 
into  the  tabernacles  of  beings  who  had  become  im- 
mortal. The  basis  of  mortal  generation  is  blood 
Without  blood  no  mortal  can  be  born.  Even  could 
immortals  have  been  conceived  on  earth,  the  trees 
of  life  had  made  but  the  paradise  of  a  few ;  but  a 
mortal  world  was  the  object  of  creation  then. 

Eve,  then,  came  down  to  be  the  Mother  of  a 
world. 

Glorious  Mother,  capable  of  dying  at  the  very 
beginning  to  give  life  to  her  offspring,  that  through 
mortality  the  eternal  life  of  the  Gods  might  be 
given  to  her  sons  and  daughters. 

Motherhood  the  same  from  the  beginning  even 
to  the  end  !  The  love  of  motherhood  passing  all 
understanding  !  Thus  read  our  Mormon  sisters  the 
fall  of  their  Mother. 

And  the  serpent  tempted  the  woman  with  the 
forbidden  fruit. 

Did  woman  hesitate  a  moment  then  ?  Did  moth- 
erhood refuse  the  cup  for  her  own  sake,  or  did  she, 
with  infinite  love,  take  it  and  drink  for  her  children's 
sake?  The  Mother  had  plunged  down,  from  the 


THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM.  199 

pinnacle  of  her  celestial  throne,  to  earth,  to  taste 
of  death  that  her  children  might  have  everlasting 
life. 

What !  should  Eve  ask  Adam  to  partake  of  the 
elements  of  death  first,  in  such  a  sacrament !  'Twould 
have  outraged  motherhood  ! 

Eve  partook  of  that  supper  of  the  Lord's  death 
first.  She  ate  of  that  body  and  drank  of  that  blood. 

Be  it  to  Adam's  eternal  credit  that  he  stood  by 
and  let  our  Mother — our  ever  blessed  Mother  Eve — 
partake  of  the  sacrifice  before  himself.  Adam  fol- 
lowed the  Mother's  example,  for  he  was  great  and 
grand — a  Father  worthy  indeed  of  a  world.  He 
was  wise,  too  ;  for  the  blood  of  life  is  the  stream  of 
mortality. 

What  a  psalm  of  everlasting  praise  to  woman, 
that  Eve  fell  first! 

A  Goddess  came  down  from  her  mansions  of  glory 
to  bring  the  spirits  of  her  children  down  after  her, 
in  their  myriads  of  branches  and  their  hundreds  of 
generations ! 

She  was  again  a  mortal  Mother  now.  The  first 
person  in  the  trinity  of  Mothers. 

The  Mormon  sisterhood  take  up  their  themes  of 
religion  with  their  Mother  Eve,  and  consent  with 
her,  at  the  very  threshold  of  the  temple,  to  bear  the 
cross.  Eve  is  ever  with  her  daughters  in  the  temple 
of  the  Lord  their  God. 

The  Mormon  daughters  of  Eve  have  also  in  this 
eleventh  hour  come  down  to  earth,  like  her,  to 
magnify  the  divine  office  of  motherhood.  She  came 
down  from  her  resurrected,  they  from  their  spirit, 
estate.  Here,  with  her,  in  the  divine  providence  of 


2OO  THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM. 

maternity,  they  begin  to  ascend  the  ladder  to  heaven, 
and  to  their  exaltation  in  the  courts  of  their  Father 
and  Mother  God. 

Who  shall  number  the  blasphemies  of  the  secta- 
rian churches  against  our  first  grand  parents  ?  Ten 
thousand  priests  of  the  serpent  have  thundered 
anathemas  upon  the  head  of  "  accursed  Adam." 
Appalling,  oftentimes,  their  pious  rage.  And  Eve— 
the  holiest,  grandest  of  Mothers — has  been  made  a 
very  by-word  to  offset  the  frailties  of  the  most 
wicked  and  abandoned. 

Very  different  is  Mormon  theology  !  The  Mor- 
mons exalt  the  grand  parents  of  our  race.  Not 
even  is  the  name  of  Christ  more  sacred  to  them 
than  the  names  of  Adam  and  Eve.  It  was  to  them 
the  poetess  and  high  priestess  addressed  her  hymn 
of  invocation ;  and  Brigham's  proclamation  that 
Adam  is  our  Father  and  God  is  like  a  hallelujah 
chorus  to  their  everlasting  names.  The  very  earth 
shall  yet  take  it  up  ;  all  the  sons  and  daughters  of 
Adam  and  Eve  shall  yet  shout  it  for  joy,  to  the 
ends  of  the  earth,  in  every  tongue ! 

Eve  stands,  then,  first — the  God-Mother  in  the 
maternal  trinity  of  this  earth.  Soon  we  shall  meet 
Sarah,  the  Mother  of  the  covenant,  and  in  her 
daughters  comprehend  something  of  patriarchal 
marriage — "  Mormon  polygamy."  But  leave  we 
awhile  these  themes  of  woman,  and  return  to  the 
personal  thread  of  the  sisters'  lives. 


CHAPTER  XXL 

THE  HUNTINGTONS ZINA  D.   YOUNG,  AND    PRESCINDIA 

L.    KIMBALL THEIR    TESTIMONY   CONCERNING  THE 

KIRTLAND     MANIFESTATIONS— UNPUBLISHED    LET- 
TER OF  JOSEPH  SMITH DEATH  OF    MOTHER  HUNT- 

INGTON. 

Who  are  these  thus  pursued  as  by  the  demons 
that  ever  haunt  a  great  destiny? 

As  observed  in  the  opening  chapter,  they  are  the 
sons  and  daughters  of  the  Pilgrim  sires  and  mothers 
who  founded  this  nation  ;  sons  and  daughters  of 
the  patriots  who  fought  the  battles  of  independence 
and  won  for  these  United  States  a  transcendent 
destiny. 

Here  meet  we  two  of  the  grand-nieces  of  Samuel 
Huntington,  one  of  the  signers  of  the  Declaration 
of  Independence,  Governor  of  Connecticut,  and 
President  of  Congress. 

Zina  Diantha  Huntington  has  long  been  known 
and  honored  as  one  of  the  most  illustrious  women 
of  the  Church.  She  was  not  only  sealed  to  the 
prophet  Joseph  in  their  sacred  covenant  of  celestial 
marriage,  but  after  his  martyrdom  she  was  sealed  to 
Brigham  Young  as  one  of  Joseph's  wives.  For 
over  a  quarter  of  a  century  she  has  been  known  as 


2O2  THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM. 

Zina  D.  Young — being  mother  to  one  of  Brigham's 
daughters.  In  her  mission  of  usefulness  she  has 
stood  side  by  side  with  Sister  Eliza  R.  Snow,  and 
her  life  has  been  that  of  one  of  the  most  noble  and 
saintly  of  women.  Thus  is  she  introduced  to  mark 
her  honored  standing  among  the  sisterhood.  Of 
her  ancestral  record  she  says : 

"  My  father's  family  is  directly  descended  from 
"Simon  Huntington,  the  *  Puritan  immigrant/ who 
"sailed  for  America  in  1633.  He  died  on  the  sea, 
"  but  left  three  sons  and  his  widow,  Margaret.  The 
"  church  records  of  Roxbury,  Mass.,  contain  the 
"earliest  record  of  the  Huntington  name  knpwn  in 
"  New  England,  and  is  in  the  handwriting  of  Rev. 
"John  Elliot  himself,  the  pastor  of  that  ancient 
"  church.  This  is  the  record  :  '  Margaret  Hunting- 
don, widow,  came  in  1633.  Her  husband  died  by 
"  the  way,  of  the  small-pox.  She  brought  —  children 
"  with  her.' 

"  Tradition  says  that  Simon,  the  Puritan  emi- 
"  grant,  sailed  for  this  country  to  escape  the  perse- 
"  cutions  to  which  non-conformists  were  subjected, 
"  during  the  high-handed  administrations  of  Laud 
"  and  the  first  Charles.  Tradition  also  declares  him 
"to 'have  been  beyond  doubt  an  Englishman.  The 
"  Rev.  E.  B.  Huntington,  in  his  genealogical  memoir 
"  of  the  Huntington  family  in  this  country,  observes  : 
"'The  character  of  his  immediate  descendants  is 
"  perhaps  in  proof  of  both  statements ;  they,  were 
"thoroughly  English  in  their  feelings,  affinities,  and 
"  language  ;  and  that  they  were  as  thoroughly  relig- 
"  ious,  their  names  and  official  connection  with  the 
"early  churches  in  this  country  abundantly  attest* 


THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM.  2O3 

"  Of  one  of  my  great-grandfathers  the  Huntington 
"family  memoir  records  thus  :  '  John,  born  in  Nor- 
wich, March  I5th,  1666,  married  December  Qth, 
"  1686,  Abigal,  daughter  of  Samuel  Lathrop,  who 
"was  born  in  May,  1667.  Her  father  moved  to 
11  Norwich  from  New  London,  to  which  place  he 
14  had  gone  from  Scituate,  Mass.,  in  1648.  He  was 
"the  son  of  the  Rev.  John  Lathrop,  who,  for  non- 
"  conformity,  being  a  preacher  in  the  First  Con- 
"gregational  Church  organized  in  London,  was 
"  imprisoned  for  two  years,  and  who,  on  being  re- 
leased in  1634,  came  to  this  country,  and  became 
"the  first  minister  of  Scituate.' 

"  The  Lathrops,  from  which  my  branch  of  the 
"family  was  direct,  also  married  with  the  other 
"branches  of  the  Huntingtons,  making  us  kin  of 
"both  sides,  and  my  sister,  Prescindia  Lathrop 
"  Huntington,  bears  the  family  name  of  generations. 

"  My  grandfather,  Wm.  Huntington,  was  born 
"September  igth,  1757;  married,  February  I3th, 
"  1783,  Prescindia  Lathrop,  and  was  one  of  the  first 
"  settlers  in  the  Black  River  Valley,  in  Northern 
"  New  York.  He  resided  at  Watertown.  He  mar- 
"  ried  for  his  second  wife  his  first  wife's  sister,  Alvira 
"Lathrop  Dresser.  He  died  May  nth,  1842.  The 
"  following  is  an  obituary  notice  found  in  one  of  the 
"  Watertown  papers  : 

"'At  his  residence,  on  the  nth  inst.,  Wm.  Hunt- 
"ington,  in  the  eighty-fifth  year  of  his  age.  Mn 
"Huntington  was  one  of  our  oldest  and  most  re- 
"spected  inhabitants.  He  was  a  native  of  Tolland, 
"  Conn.,  and  for  three  or  four  years  served  in  the 
"army  of  the  Revolution.  In  the  year  1784  he  emi- 
"  grated  to  New  Hampshire,  where  he  resided  till  the 


2O4  THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM. 

"year  1804,  when  he  removed  to  Watertown.  He 
"  was  for  many  years  a  member  and  an  officer  of  the 
"  Presbyterian  Church.' 

"  Before  his  death,  however,  my  grandfather  was 
"baptized  into  the  Church  of  Jesus  Christ  of  Latter- 
"day  Saints.  He  always  spoke  of  Samuel  Hunt- 
41  ington,  the  signer  of  the  Declaration  of  Indepen- 
"  dence,  as  his  Uncle  Samuel." 

This  genealogical  record  is  given  to  illustrate  the 
numerous  Puritan  and  Revolutionary  relations  of 
the  leading  families  of  the  Mormon  people,  and  to 
emphasize  the  unparalleled  outrage  of  the  repeated 
exile  of  such  descendants — exiles  at  last  from  Amer- 
ican civilization.  How  exact  has  been  the  resem- 
blance of  their  history  to  that  of  their  Pilgrim 
fathers  and  mothers ! 

But  the  decided  connection  of  the  Huntingtons 
with  the  Mormon  people  was  in  William  Hunting- 
ton,  the  father  of  sisters  Zina  and  Prescindia,  who 
for  many  years  was  a  presiding  High  Priest  of  the 
Church,  being  a  member  of  the  High  Council. 

This  Wm.  Huntington  was  also  a  patriot,  and 
served  in  the  war  with  Great  Britain,  in  1812. 

The  sisters  Zina  and  Prescindia,  with  their  broth- 
ers, were  raised  fourteen  miles  east  of  Sackett's 
Harbor,  where  the  last  battle  was  fought  between 
the  British  and  Americans,  in  that  war ;  so  that  the 
Revolutionary  history  of  their  country  formed  a 
peculiarly  interesting  theme  to  the  " young  folks" 
of  the  Huntington  family.  Indeed  their  brother, 
Dimock,  at  the  period  of  the  exodus  of  the  Mor- 
mons from  Nauvoo,  had  so  much  of  the  blood  of 
the  patriots  in  his  veins  that  he  at  once  enlisted  in 


THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM.  205 

.the  service  of  his  country  in  the  war  with  Mexico — 
being  a  soldier  in  the  famotfs  Mormon  battalion. 

Prescindia  Lathrop  Huntington,  the  eldest  of 
these  two  illustrious  sisters,  was  born  in  Watertown, 
Jefferson  county,  N.  Y.,  September  7th,  1810,  and 
was  her  mother's  fourth  child ;  Zina  Diantha  was 
born  at  the  same  place,  January  3ist,  1821. 

Prescindia  is  a  woman  of  very  strong  character; 
and  her  life  has  been  marked  with  great  decision 
and  self-reliance,  both  in  thought  and  purpose.  She 
was  also  endowed  with  a  large,  inspired  mind — the 
gifts  of  prophesy,  speaking  in  tongues,  and  the 
power  to  heal  and  comfort  the  sick,  being  quite  pre- 
eminent in  her  apostolic  life.  In  appearance  she  is 
the  very  counterpart  of  the  Eliza  Huntington  whose 
likeness  is  published  in  the  book  of  the  Huntington 
family.  A  mother  in  Israel  is  Sister  Prescindia,  and 
the  type  of  one  of  the  Puritan  mothers  in  the  olden 
time.  She  was  sealed  to  Joseph  Smith,  and  for 
many  years  was  one  of  the  wives  of  the  famous 
Heber  C.  Kimball. 

Mother  Huntington  was  also  an  exemplary  saint. 
She  died  a  victim  of  the  persecutions,  when  the 
saints  were  driven  from  Missouri,  and  deserves  to 
be  enshrined  as  a  martyr  among  her  people.  Her 
name  was  Zina  Baker,  born  May  2d,  1 786,  in  Plain- 
field,  Cheshire  county,  N.  H.,  and  married  to  Wm. 
Huntington,  December  28,  1806.  Her  father  was 
one  of  the  first  physicians  in  New  Hampshire,  and 
her  mother,  Diantha  Dimock,  was  descended  from 
the  noble  family  of  Dymocks,  whose  representatives 
held  the  hereditary  knight-championship  of  Eng- 
land— instance  Sir  Edward  Dymock,  Queen  Eliza- 
beth's champion. 


2O6  THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM. 

Mother  Huntington  was  a  woman  of  great  faith. 
"  She  believed  that  God  would  hear  and  answer 
"  prayer  in  behalf  of  the  sick.  The  gift  of  healing 
"  was  with  her  before  the  gospel  was  restored  in  its 
"  fullness." 

Thus  testify  her  daughters  of  their  mother,  whose 
spirit  of  faith  was  also  instilled  into  their  own 
hearts,  preparing  them  to  receive  the  gospel  of  a 
great  spiritual  dispensation,  and  for  that  apostolic 
calling  among  the  sick,  to  which  their  useful  lives 
have  been  greatly  devoted. 

Father  and  IVIother  Huntington  had  both  been 
strict  Presbyterians ;  but  about  the  time  of  the 
organization  of  the  Latter-day  Church  he  withdrew 
from  the  congregation,  which  had  become  divided 
over  church  forms,  and  commenced  an  earnest 
examination  of  the  Scriptures  for  himself.  To  his 
astonishment  he  discovered  that  there  was  no 
church  extant,  to  his  knowledge,  according  to  the 
ancient  pattern,  with  apostles  and  prophets,  nor  any 
possessing  the  gifts  and  powers  of  the  ancient  gos- 
pel. For  the  next  three  years  he  was  as  a  watcher 
for  the  coming  of  an  apostolic  mission,  when  one 
day  Elder  Joseph  Wakefield  brought  to  his  house 
the  Book  of  Mormon.  Soon  his  family  embraced 
the  Latter-day  faith,  rejoicing  in  the  Lord.  Him- 
self and  wife,  and  his  son  Dimock  and  his  wife,  with 
"  Zina  D.,"  then  only  a  maiden,  were  the  first  of  the 
family  baptized.  Zina  was  baptized  by  Hyrum 
Smith,  in  Watertown,  August  ist,  1835. 

Prescindia  at  that  time  was  living  with  her  hus- 
band at  Loraine,  a  little  village  eighteen  miles  from 
her  native  place,  when  her  mother,  in  the  summer 


THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM.  2O/ 

of  1835,  brought  to  her  the  Book  of  Mormon  and 
her  first  intelligence  of  the  Mormon  prophet.  She 
gathered  to  Kirtland  in  May,  1836,  and  was  bap- 
tized on  the  6th  of  the  following  June,  and  was 
confirmed  by  Oliver  Cowdry. 

In  Kirtland,"  she  says,  "  we  enjoyed  many  very 
"great  blessings,  and  often  saw  the  power  of  God 
"  manifested.  On  one  occasion  I  saw  angels  clothed 
41  in  white  walking  upon  the  temple.  It  was  during 
41  one  of  our  monthly  fast  meetings,  when  the  saints 
"  were  in  the  temple  worshipping.  A  little  girl 
"came  to  my  door  and  in  wonder  called  me  out, 
"exclaiming,  'The  meeting  is  on  the  top  of  the 
"meeting  house  !'  I  went  to  the  door,  and  there  I 
41  saw  on  the  temple  angels  clothed  in  white  covering 
"the  roof  from  end  to  end.  They  seemed  to  be 
"walking  to  and  fro;  they  appeared  and  disap- 
"  peared.  The  third  time  they  appeared  and  dis- 
"  appeared  before  I  realized  that  they  were  not 
"  mortal  men.  Each  time  in  a  moment  they  vanished, 
"and  their  reappearance  was  the  same.  This  was 
"  in  broad  daylight,  in  the  afternoon.  A  number  of 
"  the  children  in  Kirtland  saw  the  same. 

44  When  the  brethren  and  sisters  came  home  in 
"  the  evening,  they  told  of  the  power  of  God  mani- 
"  fested  in  the  temple  that  day,  and  of  the  prophe- 
"sying  and  speaking  in  tongues.  It  was  also  said, 
"  in  the  interpretation  of  tongues,  *  That  the  angels 
"  were  resting  down  upon  the  house.' 

"  At  another  fast  meeting  I  was  in  the  temple 
"with  my  sister  Zina.  The  whole  of  the  congrega- 
tion were  on  their  knees,  praying  vocally,  for  such 
"was  the  custom  at  the  close  of  these  meetings 


208  THE    WOMEft    OF    MORMONDOM. 

"  when  Father  Smith  presided ;  yet  there  was  no 
"  confusion  ;  the  voices  of  the  congregation  mingled 
"  softly  together.  While  the  congregation  was  thus 
"praying,  we  both  heard,  from  one  corner  of  the 
"  room  above  our  heads,  a  choir  of  angels  singing 
"  most  beautifully.  They  were  invisible  to  us,  but 
"  myriads  of  angelic  voices  seemed  to  be  united  in 
"  singing  some  song  of  Zion,  and  their  sweet  har- 
"  mony  filled  the  temple  of  God. 

"  We  were  also  in  the  temple  at  the  pentecost. 
"  In  the  morning  Father  Smith  prayed  for  a  pente- 
"  cost,  in  opening  the  meeting.  That  day  the  power 
"  of  God  rested  mightily  upon  the  saints.  There 
"was  poured  out  upon  us  abundantly  the  spirit  of 
"revelation,  prophesy  and  tongues.  The  Holy 
"  Ghost  filled  the  house  ;  and  along  in  the  afternoon 
"a  noise  was  heard.  It  was  the  sound  of  a  mighty 
"  rushing  wind.  But  at  first  the  congregation  was 
"startled,  not  knowing  what  it  was.  To  many  it 
"  seemed  as  though  the  roof  was  all  in  flames. 
"Father  Smith  exclaimed,  'Is  the  house  on  fire!' 

"  '  Do  you  not  remember  your  prayer  this  morn- 
"ing,  Father  Smith?'  inquired  a  brother. 

"  Then  the  patriarch,  clasping  his  hands,  exclaim- 
"ed,  'The  spirit  of  God,  like  a  mighty  rushing 
"wind!' 

"  At  another  time  a  cousin  of  ours  came  to  visit 
"  us  at  Kirtland.  She  wanted  to  go  to  one  of  the 
"saints'  fast  meetings,  to  hear  some  one  sing  or 
"speak  in  tongues,  but  she  said  she  expected  to 
"  have  a  hearty  laugh. 

"  Accordingly  we  went  with  our  cousin  to  the 
"meeting,  during  which  a  Brother  McCarter  rose 


THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM.  2CX) 

"  and  sang  a  song  of  Zion  in  tongues ;  I  arose  and 
"  sang  simultaneously  with  him  the  same  tune  and 
"  words,  beginning  and  ending  each  verse  in  perfect 
'"  unison,  without  varying  a  word.  It  was  just  as 
"  though  we  had  sung  it  together  a  thousand  times. 

"  After  we  came  out  of  meeting,  our  cousin  ob- 
"  served,  '  Instead  of  laughing,  I  never  felt  so  solemn 
-in  my  life.'" 

The  family  of  Huntingtons  removed  with  the 
saints  from  Kirtland  to  Far  West,  and  passed 
through  the  scenes  of  the  expulsion  from  Missouri. 
In  this  their  experience  was  very  similar  to  the  nar- 
ratives of  the  other  sisters  already  given  ;  but  Sister 
Prescindia's  visit  to  the  prophet,  in  Liberty  jail, 
must  have  special  notice.  She  says  : 

"  In  the  month  of  February,  1839,  mv  father,  with 
"  Heber  C.  Kimball,  and  Alanson  Ripley,  came  and 
"  stayed  over  night  with  us,  on  their  way  to  visit  the 
"  prophet  and  brethren  in  Liberty  jail.  I  was  invited 
"  to  go  with  them. 

"  When  we  arrived  at  the  jail  we  found  a  heavy 
"guard  outside  and  inside  the  door.  We  were 
"  watched  very  closely,  lest  we  should  leave  tools  to 
"  help  the  prisoners  escape. 

"  I  took  dinner  with  the  brethren  in  prison ;  they 
"  were  much  pleased  to  see  the  faces  of  true  friends ; 
"  but  I  cannot  describe  my  feelings  on  seeing  that 
"  man  of  God  there  confined  in  such  a  trying  time 
"  for  the  saints,  when  his  counsel  was  so  much 
"  needed.  And  we  were  obliged  to  leave  them  in 
"  that  horrid  prison,  surrounded  by  a  wicked  mob. 

"  While  in  prison,  the  brethren  were  presented 
"with  human  flesh  to  eat.  My  brother,  Wm.  Hunt- 


2IO  THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM. 

"  ington,  tasted  before  the  word  could  be  passed 
"  from  Joseph  to  him.  It  was  the  flesh  of  a  colored 
"  man. 

"After  my  second  visit  to  the  prison,  with  Fred-' 
"  erick  G.  Williams,  the  prophet  addressed  to  me 
"  the  following  letter  : 

"*  LIBERTY  JAIL,  March  i5th,  1839. 
" '  DEAR  SISTER  : 

" '  My  heart  rejoiced  at  the  friendship  you  mani- 
"  fested  in  requesting  to  have  conversation  with  us ; 
"but  the  jailer  is  a  very  jealous  man,  for  fear  some 
"one  will  have  tools  for  us  to  get  out  with.  He  is 
"  under  the  eye  of  the  mob  continually,  and  his  life 
"  is  at  stake  if  he  grants  us  any  privilege.  He  will 
"  not  let  us  converse  with  any  one  alone. 

"  *  O  what  a  joy  it  would  be  for  us  to  see  our 
"  friends.  It  would  have  gladdened  my  heart  to 
"  have  had  the  privilege  of  conversing  with  you ; 
"  but  the  hand  of  tyranny  is  upon  us ;  but  thanks 
"  be  to  God,  it  cannot  last  always  ;  and  he  that  sit- 
"  teth  in  the  heavens  will  laugh  at  their  calamity  and 
"  mock  when  their  fear  cometh. 

"  '  We  feel,  dear  sister,  that  our  bondage  is  not  of 
"  long  duration.  I  trust  that  I  shall  have  the  chance 
"  to  give  such  instructions  as  have  been  communi- 
"cated  to  us,  before  long;  and  as  you  wanted  some 
"  instruction  from  us,  and  also  to  give  us  some  infor- 
"  mation,  and  administer  consolation  to  us,  and  to 
"  find  out  what  is  best  for  you  to  do,  I  think  that 
"  many  of  the  brethren,  if  they  will  be  pretty  still, 
"  can  stay  in  this  country  until  the  indignation  is 
"  over  and  passed.  But  I  think  it  will  be  better  for 
"  Brother  Buell  to  leave  and  go  with  the  rest  of  the 
"  brethren,  if  he  keeps  the  faith,  and  at  any  rate,  for 
"  thus  speaketh  the  spirit  concerning  him.  I  want 
"  him  and  you  to  know  that  I  am  your  true  friend. 

" '  I  was  glad  to  see  you.    No  tongue  can  tell  what 


THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM.  211 

"  inexpressible  joy  it  gives  a  man  to  see  the  face  of 
"  one  who  has  been  a  friend,  after  having  been  in- 
"  closed  in  the  walls  of  a  prison  for  five  months.  It 
"  seems  to  me  my  heart  will  always  be  more  tender 
"  after  this  than  ever  it  was  before. 

"  '  My  heart  bleeds  continually  when  I  contem- 
plate the  distress  of  the  Church.  O  that  I  could 
"be  with  them  ;  I  would  not  shrink  at  toil  and  hard- 
ship to  render  them  comfort  and  consolation.  I 
"  want  the  blessing  once  more  to  lift  my  voice  in  the 
"  midst  of  the  saints.  I  would  pour  out  my  soul  to 
"God  for  their  instruction.  It  has  been  the  plan  of 
"  the  devil  to  hamper  and  distress  me  from  the  begin- 
"  ning,  to  keep  me  from  explaining  myself  to  them, 
"  and  I  never  have  had  opportunity  to  give  them 
"  the  plan  that  God  has  revealed  to  me.  Many  have 
"run  without  being  sent,  crying,  '  Tidings,  my  Lord,' 
"  and  have  caused  injury  to  the  Church,  giving  the 
"adversary  more  power  over  them  that  walk  by 
"  sight  and  not  by  faith.  Our  trouble  will  only  give 
"  us,  that  knowledge  to  understand  the  mind  of  the 
"  ancients.  For  my  part  I  think  I  never  could  have 
"  felt  as  I  now  do  if  I  had  not  suffered  the  wrongs 
"  which  I  have  suffered.  All  things  shall  work  to- 
"  gether  for  good  to  them  that  love  God. 

"  '  Beloved  sister,  we  see  that  perilous  times  have 
"  truly  come,  and  the  things  which  we  have  so  long 
"  expected  have  at  last  begun  to  usher  in  ;  but  when 
"  you  see  the  fig  tree  begin  to  put  forth  its  leaves, 
"  you  may  know  that  the  summer  is  nigh  at  hand. 
"  There  will  be  a  short  work  on  the  earth ;  it  has 
"  now  commenced.  I  suppose  there  will  soon  be 
"  perplexity  all  over  the  earth.  Do  not  let  our 
"  hearts  faint  when  these  things  come  upon  us,  for 
"  they  must  come  or  the  word  cannot  be  fulfilled.  I 
"  know  that  something  will  soon  take  place  to  stir 
"  up  this  generation  to  see  what  they  have  been 
41  doing,  and  that  their  fathers  have  inherited  lies, 


212  THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM. 

"  and  they  have  been  led  captive  by  the  devil  to  no 
"  profit.  But  they  know  not  what  they  do.  Do  not 
"have  any  feeling  of  enmity  towards  any  son  or 
"  daughter  of  Adam.  I  believe  I  shall  be  let  out  of 
"  their  hands  some  way  or  other,  and  shall  see  good 
"  days.  We  cannot  do  anything,  only  stand  still 
"  and  see  the  salvation  of  God.  He  must  do  his 
"  own  work  or  it  must  fall  to  the  ground.  We  must 
"not  take  it  in  our  hands  to  avenge  our  wrongs. 
" '  Vengeance  is  mine,  saith  the  Lord  ;  I  will  repay/ 
"  I  have  no  fears  ;  I  shall  stand  unto  death,  God 
"being  my  helper. 

" '  I  wanted  to  communicate  something,  and  I 
"wrote  this.  Write  to  us  if  you  can. 

&c., 

"<J.  SMITH,  JR.'" 

This  letter  to  Sister  Prescindia,  which  has  never 
before  been  published,  gives  an  excellent  example 
of  the  spirit  and  style  of  the  prophet.  It  will.be 
read  with  interest,  even  by  the  anti-Mormon.  Him- 
self in  prison,  and  his  people  even  at  that  moment 
passing  through  their  expulsion,  what  passages  for 
admiration  are  these  : 

"  Do  not  have  any  feelings  of  enmity  towards  any 
"son  or  daughter  of  Adam."  "They  know  not 
"what  they  do!"  u  We  must  not  take  it  in  our 
"  hands  to  avenge  our  wrongs.  Vengeance  is  mine, 
"  saith  the  Lord  ;  I  will  repay."  "  I  have  no  fears  ; 
"  I  shall  stand  unto  death,  God  being  my  helper  I" 

Like  his  divine  Master  this ;  "  Father,  forgive 
"  them ;  they  know  not  what  they  do !"  A  great 
heart,  indeed,  had  Joseph,  and  a  spirit  exalted  with 
noble  aims  and  purposes. 

When  Sister  Prescindia  returned  to  Far  West, 


THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM.  213 

her  father  and  mother,  with  her  sister  Zina,  had 
started  in  the  exodus  of  the  saints  from  Missouri 
to  Illinois.  She  says  : 

"  I  never  saw  my  mother  again.  I  felt  alone  on 
"  the  earth,  with  no  one  to  comfort  me,  excepting 
"  my  little  son,  George,  for  my  husband  had  become 
"  a  bitter  apostate,  and  I  could  not  speak  in  favor  of 
"  the  Church  in  his  presence.  There  was  by  this 
"time  not  one  true  saint  in  the  State  of  Missouri, 
"  to  my  knowledge." 

Sister  Zina  says :  "  On  the  i8th  of  April,  1839,  J 
"  left  Far  West,  with  my  father,  mother,  and  two 
"younger  brothers,  and  arrived  at  Quincy,  111.,  on 
"the  25th  of  April,  and  from  thence  to  Commerce, 
"afterwards  called  Nauvoo,  which  we  reached  on 
"the  1 4th  of  May. 

"  Joseph,  the  prophet,  had  just  escaped  from  prison 
"  in  Missouri,  and  the  saints  were  gathering  to 
"  Nauvoo.  My  brother  Dimock  was  also  in  Illinois, 
"living  at  Judge  Cleveland's. 

"  On  the  24th  of  June  my  dear  mother  was  taken 
"  sick  with  a  congestive  chill.  About  three  hours 
"  afterwards  she  called  me  to  her  bedside  and  said  : 

"*  Zina,  my  time  has  come  to  die.  You  will  live 
"  many  years ;  but  O,  how  lonesome  father  will  be. 
"  I  am  not  afraid  to  die.  All  I  dread  is  the  mortal 
"  suffering.  I  shall  come  forth  triumphant  when  the 
"  Saviour  comes  with  the  just  to  meet  the  saints  on 
4t  the  earth.' 

"The  next  morning  I  was  taken  sick;  and  in  a 
"  few  days  my  father  and  brother  Oliver  were  also 
"prostrate.  My  youngest  brother,  John,  twelve 
*  years  of  age,  was  the  only  one  left  that  could  give 


214  THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM. 

"  us  a  drink  of  water ;  but  the  prophet  sent  his 
"adopted  daughter  to  assist  us  in  our  affliction,  and 
"  saw  to  our  being  taken  care  of,  as  well  as  circum- 
"  stances  would  permit — for  there  were  hundreds,. 
"  lying  in  tents  and  wagons,  who  needed  care  as 
"  much  as  we.  Once  Joseph  came  himself  and  made 
"  us  tea  with  his  own  hands,  and  comforted  the  sick 
"  and  dying. 

"Early  in  the  morning  of  the  8th  of  July,  1839, 
"just  before  the  sun  had  risen,  the  spirit  of  my 
"  blessed  mother  took  its  flight,  without  her  moving 
"  a  muscle,  or  even  the  quiver  of  the  lip. 

"  Only  two  of  the  family  could  follow  the  remains 
"  to  their  resting  place.  O,  who  can  tell  the  an- 
"guish  of  the  hearts  of  the  survivors,  who  knew 
"  not  whose  turn  it  would  be  to  follow  next  ? 

"  Thus  died  my  martyred  mother !  The  prophet 
"Joseph  often  said  that  the  saints  who  died  in  the 
"  persecutions  were  as  much  martyrs  of  the  Church 
"  as  was  the  apostle  David  Patten,  who  was  killed 
"  in  the  defence  of  the  saints,  or  those  who  were 
"  massacred  at  Ha\in's  Mill.  And  my  beloved 
"  mother  was  one  of  the  many  bright  martyrs  of 
"  the  Church  in  those  dark  and  terrible  days  of  per- 
"  secution." 


CHAPTER   XXII. 

WOMAN'S  WORK  IN    CANADA   AND  GREAT    BRITAIN — 
HEBER  c.  KIMBALL'S  PROPHESY — PARLEY  P.  PRATT'S 

SUCCESSFUL  MISSION  TO  CANADA A  BLIND  WOMAN 

MIRACULOUSLY    HEALED DISTINGUISHED    WOMEN 

OF    THAT    PERIOD. 

By  this  time  (1840,  the  period  of  the  founding  of 
Nauvoo),  the  Church  has  had  a  remarkable  history 
in  Canada  and  Great  Britain.  To  these  missions 
we  must  now  go  for  some  of  our  representative 
women,  and  also  to  extend  our  view  of  Mormonism 
throughout  the  world. 

Brigham  Young  was  the  first  of  the  elders  who 
took  Mormonism  into  Canada,  soon  after  his  en- 
trance into  the  Church.  There  he  raised  up  several 
branches,  and  gathered  a  few  families  to  Kirtland ; 
but  it  was  not  until  the  apostle  Parley  P.  Pratt  took 
his  successful  and  almost  romantic  mission  to 
Canada,  that  Mormonism  flourished  in  the  British 
Province,  and  from  there  spread  over  to  Great 
Britain,  like  an  apostolic  wave. 

Presently  we  shall  see  that  the  romance  of  Mor- 
monism has  centred  around  the  sisters  abroad  as 
well  as  at  home.  Frequently  we  shall  see  them  the 
characters  which  first  come  to  view ;  the  first  pre- 


2lb  THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMON  DOM. 

pared  for  the  great  spiritual  work  of  the  age ;  the 
first  to  receive  the  elders  with  their  tidings  of  the 
advent  of  a  prophet  and  the  administration  of  angels, 
after  the  long  night  of  spiritual  darkness,  and  cen- 
turies of  angelic  silence  ;  and  were  it  possible  to 
trace  their  every  footstep  in  the  wonderful  work 
abroad,  we  should  find  that  the  sisters  have  been 
effective  missionaries  of  the  Church,  and  that,  in 
some  sections,  they  have  been  instrumental  in 
making  more  disciples  than  even  the  elders. 

Here  is  the  opening  of  the  story  of  Parley  R 
Pratt's  mission  to  Canada,  in  which  a  woman  imme- 
diately comes  to  the  foreground  in  a  famous  pro- 
phesy : 

"It  was  now  April  "(1836).  "I  had  retired  to 
"  rest,"  says  he,  "  one  evening,  at  an  early  hour,  and 
"was  pondering  my  future  course,  when  there  came 
"  a  knock  at  the  door.  I  arose  and  opened  it,  when 
"  Heber  C.  Kimball  and  others  entered  my  house, 
"and  being  filled  with  the  spirit  of  prophesy,  they 
"  blessed  me  and  my  wife,  and  prophesied  as  follows : 
"'  Brother  Parley,  thy  wife  shall  be  healed  from  this 
"  hour,  and  shall  bear  a  son,  and  his  name  shall  be 
"  Parley ;  and  he  shall  be  a  chosen  instrument  in  the 
"  hands  of  the  Lord  to  inherit  the  priesthood  and 
"to  walk  in  the  steps  of  his  father.  He  shall  do  a 
"  great  work  in  the  earth  in  ministering  the  word 
"and  teaching  the  children  of  men.  Arise,  there- 
"  fore,  and  go  forth  in  the  ministry,  nothing  doubt- 
"ing.  Take  no  thought  for  your  debts,  nor  the 
"necessaries  of  life,  for  the  Lord  will  supply  you 
"with  abundant  means  for  all  things. 

" '  Thou  shalt  go  to  Upper  Canada,  even  to  the 


THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM.  21 7 

"city  of  Toronto,  the  capital,  and  there  thou  shalt 
"  find  a  people  prepared  for  the  fullness  of  the  gos- 
"  pel,  and  they  shall  receive  thee,  and  thou  shalt 
"organize  the  Church  among  them,  and  it  shall 
"spread  thence  into  the  regions  round  about,  and 
"  many  shall  be  brought  to  the  knowledge  of  the 
"  truth,  and  shall  be  filled  with  joy  ;  and  from  the 
"things  growing  out  of  this  mission,  shall  the  full- 
"  ness  of  the  gospel  spread  into  England,  and  cause 
"  a  great  work  to  be  done  in  that  land.' 

"  This  prophesy  was  the  more  marvelous,  because 
"being  married  near  ten  years  we  had  never  had 
"  any  children ;  and  for  near  six  years  my  wife  had 
"been  consumptive,  and  had  been  considered  incur- 
"  able.  However,  we  called  to  mind  the  faith  of 
"Abraham  of  old,  and  judging  Him  faithful  who 
"had  promised,  we  took  courage. 

"  I  now  began  in  earnest  to  prepare  for  the  mis- 
"  sion,  and  in  a  few  days  all  was  ready.  Taking  an 
"  affectionate  leave  of  my  wife,  mother  and  friends, 
"  I  started  for  Canada,  in  company  with  a  Brother 
"  Nickerson,who  kindly  offered  to  bear  expenses." 

Away  to  Canada  with  Parley.  We  halt  with  him 
in  the  neighborhood  of  Hamilton.  He  is  an  entire 
Granger  in  the  British  Province,  and  without  money. 
He  knows  not  what  to  do.  His  narrative  thus  con- 
tinues : 

"  The  spirit  seemed  to  whisper  to  me  to  try  the 
"  Lord,  and  see  if  anything  was  too  hard  for  him, 
"  that  I  might  know  and  trust  him  under  all  circum- 
"  stances.  I  retired  to  a  secret  place  in  a  forest,  and 
"  prayed  to  the  Lord  for  money  to  enable  me  to 
"cross  the  lake.  I  then  entered  Hamilton,  and 


2l8  THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM. 

"  commenced  to  chat  with  some  of  the  people.  I 
"  had  not  tarried  many  minutes  before  I  was  accosted 
"by  a  stranger,  who  inquired  my  name  and  where  I 
"was  going.  He  also  asked  me  if  I  did  not  want 
"some  money.  I  said  yes.  He  then  gave  me  ten 
"dollars,  and  a  letter  of  introduction  to  John  Tay- 
"  lor,  of  Toronto,  where  I  arrived  the  same  evening. 

"  Mrs.  Taylor  received  me  kindly,  and  went  for 
"  her  husband,  who  was  busy  in  his  mechanic  shop. 
"  To  them  I  made  known  my  errand  to  the  city,  but 
"  received  little  direct  encouragement.  I  took  tea 
"  with  them,  and  then  sought  lodgings  at  a  public 
"house." 

Already  had  he  met  in  Canada  a  woman  destined 
to  bear  a  representative  name  in  the  history  of  her 
people,  for  she  is  none  other  than  the  wife  of  the 
afterwards  famous  apostle  John  Taylor.  She  is  the 
first  to  receive  him  into  her  house ;  and  the  apos- 
tolic story  still  continues  the  woman  in  the  fore- 
ground : 

"  In  the  morning,"  he  says,  "  I  commenced  a 
"regular  visit  to  each  of  the  clergy  of  the  place, 
"  introducing  myself  and  my  errand.  I  was  abso- 
lutely refused  hospitality,  and  denied  the  oppor- 
tunity of  preaching  in  any  of  their  houses  or 
"  congregations.  Rather  an  unpromising  beginning, 
"thought  I,  considering  the  prophesies  on  my  head 
"  concerning  Toronto.  However,  nothing  daunted,  I 
"  applied  to  the  sheriff  for  the  use  of  the  court-house, 
"  and  then  to  the  authorities  for  a  public  room  in  the 
"  market-place  ;  but  with  no  better  success.  What 
"  could  I  do  more  ?  I  had  exhausted  my  influence 
"  and  power  without  effect.  I  now  repaired  to  a 


THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM.  219 

"  pine  grove  just  out  of  the  town,  and,  kneeling 
"  down,  called  on  the  Lord,  bearing  testimony  of  my 
"  unsuccessful  exertions ;  my  inability  to  open  the 
"way;  at  the  same  time  asking  him  in  the  name 
"of  Jesus  to  open  an  effectual  door  for  his  servant 
"  to  fulfill  his  mission  in  that  place. 

"  I  then  arose  and  again  entered  the  town,  and 
"going  to  the  house  of  John  Taylor,  had  placed  my 
"  hand  on  my  baggage  to  depart  from  a  place  where 
"  I  could  do  no  good,  when  a  few  inquiries  on  the 
"part  of  Mr.  Taylor,  inspired  by  a  degree  of  curi- 
"  osity  or  of  anxiety,  caused  a  few  moments'  delay, 
"  during  which  a  lady  by  the  name  of  Walton  entered 
"  the  house,  and,  being  an  acquaintance  of  Mrs. 
"  Taylor,  was  soon  engaged  in  conversation  with  her 
"in  an  adjoining  room.  I  overheard  the  following: 

"  '  Mrs.  Walton,  I  am  glad  to  see  you  ;  there  is  a 
"gentleman  here  from  the  United  States  who  says 
"  the  Lord  sent  him  to  this  city  to  preach  the  gos- 
pel. He  has  applied  in  vain  to  the  clergy  and  to 
"  the  various  authorities  for  opportunity  to  fulfill,  his 
"mission,  and  is  now  about  to  leave  the  place.  He 
"  may  be  a  man  of  God  ;  I  am  sorry  to  have  him 
"  depart/ 

"  '  Indeed !'  said  the  lady  ;  'well,  I  now  understand 
"  the  feelings  and  spirit  which  brought  me  to  your 
"house  at  this  time.  I  have  been  busy  over  the 
"  wash-tub  and  too  weary  to  take  a  walk ;  but  I  felt 
"  impressed  to  walk  out.  I  then  thought  I  would 
"  make  a  call  on  my  sister,  the  other  side  of  town ; 
"but  passing  your  door,  the  spirit  bade  me  go  in; 
"  but  I  said  to  myself,  I  will  go  in  when  I  return ;  but 
"  the  spirit  said,  go  in  now.  I  accordingly  came  in, 


22O  THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM. 

"  and  I  am  thankful  that  I  did  so.  Tell  the  stranger 
"  he  is  welcome  to  my  house.  I  am  a  widow  ;  but  I 
"  have  a  spare  room  and  bed,  and  food  in  plenty. 
"  He  shall  have  a  home  at  my  house,  and  two  large 
"  rooms  to  preach  in  just  when  he  pleases.  Tell 
"him  I  will  send  my  son  John  over  to  pilot  him  to 
"  my  house,  while  I  go  and  gather  my  relatives  and 
41  friends  to  come  in  this  very  evening  and  hear  him 
"  talk ;  for  I  feel  by  the  spirit  that  he  is  a  man  sent 
"by  the  Lord  with  a  message  which  will  do  us 
"  good.' 

"  The  evening  found  me  quietly  seated  at  her 
"  house,"  says  Parley,  "  in  the  midst  of  a  number  of 
"listeners,  who  were  seated  around  a  large  work 
"  table  in  her  parlor,  and  deeply  interested  in  con- 
"versation  like  the  following: 

•''Mr.  Pratt,  we  have  for  some  years  been  anx- 
"  iously  looking  for  some  providential  event  which 
"  would  gather  the  sheep  into  one  fold  ;  build  up  the 
"true  Church  as  in  days  of  old,  and  prepare  the 
"  humble  followers  of  the  Lamb,  now  scattered  and 
"divided,  to  receive  their  coming  Lord  when  he 
"  shall  descend  to  reign  on  the  earth.  As  soon  as 
"  Mrs.  Taylor  spoke  of  you  I  felt  assured,  as  by  a 
"  strange  and  unaccountable  presentiment,  that  you 
"  were  a  messenger,  with  important  tidings  on  these 
"  subjects  ;  and  I  was  constrained  to  invite  you  here ; 
"  and  now  we  are  all  here  anxiously  waiting  to  heai 
"  your  words/ 

"  '  Well,  Mrs.  Walton,  I  will  frankly  relate  to  yoi 
"and  your  friends  the  particulars  of  my  message  am 
"the  nature  of  my  commission.     A  young  man 
"  the   State   of  New  York,  whose  name  is  Josepl 


THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM.  221 

"  Smith,  was  visited  by  an  angel  of  God,  and,  after 
:<  several  visions  and  much  instruction,  was  enabled 
"  to  obtain  an  ancient  record,  written  by  men  of  old 
a  on  the  American  continent,  and  containing  the 
"history,  prophesies  and  gospel  in  plainness,  as  re- 
pealed to  them  by  Jesus  and  his  messengers.  This 
"same  Joseph  Smith  and  others,  were  also  commis- 
"  sioned  by  the  angels  in  these  visions,  and  ordained 
"  to  the  apostleship,  with  authority  to  organize  a 
"church,  to  administer  the  ordinances,  and  to  ordain 
"  others,  and  thus  cause  the  full,  plain  gospel  in  its 
"  purity,  to  be  preached  in  all  the  world. 

"'By  these  apostles  thus  commissioned,  I  have 
"been  ordained  as  an  apostle,  and  sent  forth  by  the 
"word  of  prophesy  to  minister  the  baptism  of 
"  repentance  for  remission  of  sins,  in  the  name  of 
"Jesus  Christ;  and  to  administer  the  gift  of  the 
"  Holy  Ghost,  to  ,heal  the  sick,  to  comfort  the 
"  mourner,  bind  up  the  broken  in  heart,  and  proclaim 
"  the  acceptable  year  of  the  Lord. 

"  *  I  was  also  directed  to  this  city  by  the  spirit  of 
"  the  Lord,  with  a  promise  that  I  should  find  a  peo- 
"  pie  here  prepared  to  receive  the  gospel,  and  should 
"  organize  them  in  the  same.  But  when  I  came  and 
"was  rejected  by  all  parties,  I  was  about  to  leave 
"  the  city ;  but  the  Lord  sent  you,  a  widow,  to  receive 
"  me,  as  I  was  about  to  depart ;  and  thus  I  was  pro- 
"  vided  for  like  Elijah  of  old.  And  now  I  bless  your 
"  house,  and  all  your  family  and  kindred,  in  his 
"  name.  Your  sins  shall  be  forgiven  you ;  you  shall 
"  understand  and  obey  the  gospel,  and  be  filled  with 
"the  Holy  Ghost;  for  so  great  faith  have  I  never 
"  seen  in  any  of  my  country.' 


222 


THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM. 


"'Well,  Mr.  Pratt,  this  is  precisely  the  message 
"  we  were  waiting  for ;  we  believe  your  words  and 
"  are  desirous  to  be  baptized/ 

"  '  It  is  your  duty  and  privilege/  said  I  ;  *  but  wait 
"  yet  a  little  while  till  I  have  an  opportunity  to  teach 
"  others,  with  whom  you  are  religiously  connected, 
"  and  invite  them  to  partake  with  you  of  the  same 
"  blessings/  " 

Next  comes  a  great  miracle — the  opening  of  the 
eyes  of  the  blind — which  seems  to  have  created 
quite  a  sensation  in  Canada ;  and  still  the  woman 
is  the  subject.  The  apostle  continues  : 

"  After  conversing  with  these  interesting  persons 
"  till  a  late  hour,  we  retired  to  rest.  Next  day  Mrs. 
"  Walton  requested  me  to  call  on  a  friend  of  hers, 
"who  was  also  a  widow  in  deep  affliction,  being  to- 
"  tally  blind  with  inflammation  in  the  eyes ;  she  had 
"  suffered  extreme  pain  for  several  months,  and  had 
"  also  been  reduced  to  want,  having  four  little  chil- 
"  dren  to  support.  She  had  lost  her  husband,  of 
"  cholera,  two  years  before,  and  had  sustained  her- 
"  self  and  family  by  teaching  school  until  deprived 
"  of  sight,  since  which,  she  had  been  dependent 
."  on  the  Methodist  society ;  herself  and  children 
"  being  then  a  public  charge.  Mrs.  Walton  sent  her 
"little  daughter  of  twelve  years  old  to  show  me  the 
"  way.  I  called  on  the  poor  blind  widow  and  help- 
"  less  orphans,  and  found  them  in  a  dark  and  gloomy 
"  apartment,  rendered  more  so  by  having  every 
"  ray  of  light  obscured  to  prevent  its  painful  effects 
"  on  her  eyes.  I  related  to  her  the  circumstances  of 
"  my  mission,  and  she  believed  the  same.  I  laid  m; 
"hands  upon  her  in  the  name  of  Jesus  Christ,  and 


THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM.  223 

"said  unto  her,  'Your  eyes  shall  be  well  from  this 
"  very  hour/  She  threw  off  her  bandages — opened 
"  her  house  to  the  light — dressed  herself,  and  walk- 
"  ing  with  open  eyes,  came  to  the  meeting  that 
"same  evening  at  Sister  Walton's,  with  eyes  as  well 
"  and  as  bright  as  any  other  persons. 

"  The  Methodist  society  were  now  relieved  of 
"their  burthen  in  the  person  of  this  widow  and  four 
"  orphans.  This  remarkable  miracle  was  soon  noised 
"  abroad,  and  the  poor  woman's  house  was  thronged 
"  from  all  parts  of  the  city  and  country  with  visitors; 
"  all  curious  to  witness  for  themselves,  and  to  inquire 
"  of  her  how  her  eyes  were  healed. 

"  '  How  did  the  man  heal  your  eyes  ?'  '  What  did 
"he  do? — tell  us,' were  questions  so  oft  repeated 
"  that  the  woman,  wearied  of  replying,  came  to  me 
"for  advice  to  know  what  she  should  do.  I  advised 
"  her  to  tell  them  that  the  Lord  had  healed  her,  and 
"  to  give  him  the  glory,  and  let  that  suffice.  But 
"still  they  teased  her  for  particulars.  'What  did 
"  this  man  do  ?'  *  How  were  your  eyes  opened  and 
"  made  well  ?' 

"'  He  laid  his  hands  upon  my  head  in  the  name 
"of  Jesus  Christ,  and  rebuked  the  inflammation, 
"  and  commanded  them  to  be  made  whole  and  re- 
"  stored  to  sight ;  and  it  was  instantly  done/ 

"  '  Well,  give  God  the  glory ;  for,  as  to  this  man, 
"it  is  well  known  thatheisan  impostor,  a  follower  of 
"Joseph  Smith,  the  false  prophet/ 

"'  Whether  he  be  an  impostor  or  not,  I  know  not; 
"  but  this  much  I  know,  whereas  I  was  blind,  now 
"  I  see !  Can  an  impostor  open  the  eyes  of  the 
"blind?"' 


224  THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM. 

The  widow  Walton  was  baptized,  with  all  her 
household;  John  Taylor  and  his  wife,  also;  and 
John  soon  became  an  able  assistant  in  the  ministry. 

And  here  we  meet  two  more  representative 
women — sisters — whose  family  were  destined  to 
figure  historically  in  the  church.  The  narative  of 
Parley  continues: 

"  The  work  soon  spread  into  the  country  and  en- 
"  larged  its  operations  in  all  that  region  ;  many  were 
"gathered  into  the  Church,  and  were  filled  with 
"  faith  and  love,  and  with  the  holy  spirit,  and  the 
"  Lord  confirmed  the  word  with  signs  following. 
"  My  first  visit  to  the  country  was  about  nine  miles 
"  from  Toronto,  among  a  settlement  of  farmers,  by 
"  one  of  whom  I  had  sent  an  appointment  beforehand. 
"John  Taylor  accompanied  me.  We  called  at  a 
"  Mr.  Joseph  Fielding's,  an  acquaintance  and  friend 
"  of  Mr.  Taylor's.  This  man  had  two  sisters,  young 
"  ladies,  who  seeing  us  coming  ran  from  their  house 
"to  one  of  the  neighboring  houses,  lest  they  should 
"give  welcome,  or  give  countenance  to  '  Mormon- 
"  ism/  Mr.  Fielding  stayed,  and  as  we  entered  the 
"  house  he  said  he  was  sorry  we  had  come ;  he  had 
"  opposed  our  holding  meeting  in  the  neighborhood  ; 
"  and,  so  great  was  the  prejudice,  that  the  Methodist 
"  meeting  house  was  closed  against  us,  and  the  min- 
ister refused,  on  Sunday,  to  give  out  the  appoint- 
"  ment  sent  by  the  farmer. 

" '  Ah  P  said  I,  '  why  do  they  oppose  Mormonism  ?' 
" '  I  don't  know,'  said  he,  '  but  the  name  has  such  a 
"contemptible  sound  ;  and,  another  thing,  we  do  not 
"want  a  new  revelation,  or  a  new  religion  contrary 
"to  the  Bible.'  '  Oh,'  said  I,  'if  that  is  all  we  shall 


THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM.  225 

"soon  remove  your  prejudices.  Come,  call  home 
"  your  sisters,  and  let's  have  some  supper.  Did  you 
"  say  the  appointment  was  not  given  out  ?'  '  I  said, 
"  sir,  that  it  was  not  given  out  in  the  meeting  house, 
"  nor  by  the  minister ;  but  the  farmer  by  whom  you 
"  sent  it  agreed  to  have  it  at  his  house.'  '  Come,  then, 
"  send  for  your  sisters,  we  will  take  supper  with  you, 
"  and  all  go  over  to  meeting  together.  If  you  and 
"  your  sisters  will  agree  to  this,  I  will  agree  to  preach 
"  the  old  Bible  gospel,  and  leave  out  all  new  reve- 
"  lations  which  are  opposed  to  it.' 

"  The  honest  man  consented.  The  young  ladies 
"  came  home,  got  us  a  good  supper,  and  all  went  to 
"  meeting.  The  house  was  crowded ;  T  preached, 
"  and  the  people  wished  to  hear  more.  The  meet- 
"  ing  house  was  opened  for  further  meetings,  and  in 
"a  few  days  we  baptized  Brother  Joseph  Fielding 
"  and  his  two  amiable  and  intelligent  sisters,  for  such 
"  they  proved  to  be  in  an  eminent  degree.  We  also 
"  baptized  many  others  in  that  neighborhood,  and 
"  organized  a  branch  of  the  church,  for  the  people 
"  there  drank  in  truth  as  water,  and  loved  it  as  they 
"  loved  life." 

Arriving  at  home  the  apostle  Parley  met  contin- 
ued examples  of  the  fulfillment  of  prophesy.  Sister 
Pratt  is  now  the  interesting  character  who  takes  the 
foreground.  He  says: 

"  I  found  my  wife  had  been  healed  of  her  seven 
"years' illness  from  the  time  Brother  Kimball  had 
"  ministered  unto  her,  and  I  began  to  realize  more 
"  fully  that  every  word  of  his  blessing  and  prophesy 
"  upon  my  head  would  surely  come  to  pass." 

"  After  a  pleasant  visit  with  the   saints,"  he  con- 

15 


226  THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM. 

tinues,  "  I  took  my  wife  with  me  and  returned  again 
"to  Toronto,  in  June,  1836.  The  work  I  had  com- 
"mencedwas  still  spreading  its  influence,  and  the 
"saints  were  still  increasing  in  faith  and  love,  in  joy 
"  and  in  good  works.  There  were  visions,  prophe- 
"  syings,  speaking  in  tongues  and  healings,  as  well 
"  as  the  casting  out  of  devils  and  unclean  spirits." 

The  work  inaugurated  by  Parley  P.  Pratt  seemed 
to  have  achieved  a  signal  triumph  almost  from  the 
very  beginning.  Indeed  all  had  come  to  pass  ac- 
cording to  the  prophesy  of  Heber  C.  Kimball,  even 
not  excepting  the  promised  son  and  heir,  who  was 
born  March  25th,  1837.  But  with  this  event  came 
the  mortal  end  of  Parley's  estimable  wife.  She 
lived  just  long  enough  to  accomplish  her  destiny ; 
and  when  the  child  was  dressed,  and  she  had  looked 
upon  it  and  embraced  it,  she  passed  away. 

The  following  personal  description  and  tribute  of 
the  poet  apostle  to  the  memory  of  his  mate  is  too 
full  of  love  and  distinctively  Mormon  ideality  to  be 
lost: 

"  She  was  tall,  of  a  slender  frame,  her  face  of  an 
"  oval  form,  eyes  large  and  of  a  dark  color,  her  fore- 
"  head  lofty,  clear  complexion,  hair  black,  smooth 
"  and  glossy.  She  was  of  a  mild  and  affectionate 
"  disposition  and  full  of  energy,  perseverance,  in- 
"  dustry  and  cheerfulness,  when  not  borne  down 
"with  sickness.  In  order,  neatness  and  refinement 
"  of  taste  and  habit  she  might  be  said  to  excel.  She 
"  was  an  affectionate  and  dutiful  wife,  an  exemplary 
"  saint,  and,  through  much  tribulation,  she  has  gone 
"to  the  world  of  spirits  to  meet  a  glorious  resur- 
"  rection  and  an  immortal  crown  and  kingdom. 


THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM. 

41  Farewell,  my  dear  Thankful,  thou  wife  of  my 
"  youth,  and  mother  of  my  first  born  ;  the  beginning 
*'of  my  strength — farewell.  Yet  a  few  more  linger- 
"  ing  years  of  sorrow,  pain  and  toil,  and  I  shall  be 
"  with  thee,  and  clasp  thee  to  my  bosom,  and  thou 
"shalt  sit  down  on  my  throne,  as  a  queen  and 
"  priestess  unto  thy  Lord,  arrayed  in  white  robes  of 
"dazzling  splendor, and  decked  with  precious  stones 
"  and  gold,  while  thy  queen  sisters  shall  minister 
"before  thee  and  bless  thee,  and  thy  sons  and 
"  daughters  innumerable  shall  call  thee  blessed,  and 
"  hold  thy  name  in  everlasting  remembrance." 

The  interesting  story  which  Parley  tells  of  the 
visit  of  the  spirit  of  his  wife  to  him,  while  he  was 
lying,  a  prisoner  for  the  gospel's  sake,  in  a  dark, 
cold  and  filthy  dungeon  in  Richmond,  Ray  county, 
Missouri,  will  be  to  the  foregoing  a  charming  sequel. 
While  tortured  with  the  gloom  and  discomforts  of 
his  prison,  and  most  of  all  with  the  inactivity  of  his 
life  of  constraint,  and  earnestly  wondering,  and 
praying  to  know,  if  he  should  ever  be  free  again  to 
enjoy  the  society  of  friends  and  to  preach  the  gos- 
pel, the  following  was  shown  to  him,  which  we  will 
tell  in  his  own  language: 

"  After  some  days  of  prayer  and  fasting,"  says  he, 
"  and  seeking  the  Lord  on  the  subject,  I  one  evening 
41  retired  to  my  bed  in  my  lonely  chamber  at  an  early 
"  hour,  and  while  the  other  prisoners  and  the  guard 
"were  chatting  and  beguiling  the  lonesome  hours 
"  in  the  upper  part  of  the  prison,  I  lay  in  silence, 
"seeking  and  expecting  an  answer  to  my  prayer, 
"  when  suddenly  I  seemed  carried  away  in  the  spirit, 
4<  and  no  longer  sensible  to  outward  objects  with 


228  THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM. 

«"  which  I  was  surrounded.  A  heaven  of  peace  and 
"  calmness  pervaded  my  bosom  ;  a  personage  from 
"the  world  of  spirits  stood  before  me  with  a  smile 
"  of  compassion  in  every  look,  an,d  pity  mingled 
"with  the  tenderest  love  and  sympathy  in  every 
"  expression  of  the  countenance.  A  soft  hand  seemed 
"placed  within  my  own,  and  a  glowing  cheek  was 
"  laid  in  tenderness  and  warmth  upon  mine.  A 
"well-known  voice  saluted  me,  which  I  readily  recog- 
"  nized  as  that  of  the  wife  of  my  youth,  who  had 
"  then  for  nearly  two  years  been  sweetly  sleeping 
"  where  the  wicked  cease  from  troubling  and  the 
"  weary  are  at  rest.  I  was  made  to  realize  that  she 
"  was  sent  to  commune  with  me,  and  to  answer  my 
"  question. 

"  Knowing  this,  I  said  to  her,  in  a  most  earnest 
"  and  inquiring  tone :  '  Shall  I  ever  be  at  liberty  again 
"  in  this  life,  and  enjoy  the  society  of  my  family  and 
"  the  saints,  and  preach  the  gospel,  as  I  have  done  ?r 
"  She  answered  definitely  and  unhesitatingly :  '  Yes  P 
"  I  then  recollected  that  I  had  agreed  to  be  satisfied 
"with  the  knowledge  of  that  one  fact,  but  now  I 
"  wanted  more. 

"  Said  I :  '  Can  you  tell  me  how,  or  by  what  means, 
"  or  when,  I  shall  escape  ?'  She  replied  :  *  That  thing 
"  is  not  made  known  to  me  yet/  I  instantly  felt  that 
"  I  had  gone  beyond  my  agreement  and  my  faith  in 
"  asking  this  last  question,  and  that  I  must  be  con- 
tented at  present  with  the  answer  to  the  first. 

"  Her  gentle  spirit  then  saluted  me  and  withdrew. 
"  I  came  to  myself.  The  noise  of  the  guards  again 
"  grated  on  my  ears,  but  heaven  and  hope  were  in 
"  my  soul. 


THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM. 


229 


"  Next  morning  I  related  the  whole  circumstance 
"  of  my  vision  to  my  two  fellow-prisoners,  who 
"  rejoiced  exceedingly.  This  may  seem  to  some  like 
"  an  idle  dream,  or  a  romance  of  the  imagination  ; 
"  but  to  me  it  was,  and  always  will  be,  a  reality,  both 
"as  it  regards  what  I  then  experienced  and  the  ful- 
"  fillment  afterwards." 

The  famous  escape  from  Richmond  jail  forms  one 
of  the  romantic  chapters  of  Mormon  history,  but  it 
belongs  rather  to  the  acts  of  the  apostles  than  to 
the  lives  of  the  sisters. 


CHAPTER  XXIII. 

A    DISTINGUISHED     CANADIAN     CONVERT MRS.     M.   I. 

HORNE HER     EARLY     HISTORY CONVERSION     TO 

MORMONISM SHE     GATHERS     WITH     THE     SAINTS 

AND    SHARES  THEIR  PERSECUTIONS INCIDENTS  OF 

HER    EARLY    CONNECTION    WITH    THE    CHURCH. 

Among  the  early  fruits  of  the  Canadian  mission, 
perhaps  the  name  of  no  other  lady  stands  more 
conspicuous  for  good  works  and  faithful  ministra- 
tions, than  that  of  Mrs.  Mary  I.  Home.  It  will, 
therefore,  be  eminently  proper  to  introduce  her  at 
this  time  to  the  reader,  and  give  a  brief  sketch  of 
her  early  career.  From  her  own  journals  we  quote 
as  follows : 

"I  was  born  on  the  2Oth  of  November,  1818,  in 
"the  town  of  Rainham,  county  of  Kent,  England. 
"  I  am  the  daughter  of  Stephen  and  Mary  Ann  Hales, 
"  and  am  the  eldest  daughter  of  a  large  family.  My 
"  parents  were  honest,  industrious  people  ;  and  when1 
"  very  young  I  was  taught  to  pray,  to  be  honest  and 
"  truthful,  to  be  kind  to  my  associates,  and  to  do 
"good  to  all  around  me.  My  father  was  of  the 
l(  Methodist  faith,  but  my  mother  attended  the 
"  Church  of  England.  As  I  was  religiously  inclined, 
"  I  attended  the  Methodist  Church  with  my  father, 


THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM.  23! 

"  who  was  faithful  in  the  performance  of  his  religious 
"  duties,  although  he  never  became  a  very  enthusi- 
"  astic  Methodist. 

"  In  the  year  1832,  when  I  was  in  my  thirteenth 
"  year,  there  was  great  excitement  in  the  town  where 
"  I  lived,  over  the  favorable  reports  that  were  sent 
"  from  Van  Dieman's  Land,  and  the  great  induce- 
"  ments  held  out  to  those  who  would  go  to  that 
"  country.  My  father  and  mother  caught  the  spirit 
"  of  going,  and  began  to  make  preparations  for 
"  leaving  England.  Before  arrangements  had  been 
"  completed  for  us  to  go,  however,  letters  were  re- 
"  ceived  from  Upper  Canada,  picturing,  in  glowing 
"  terms,  the  advantages  of  that  country.  My  father 
"  changed  his  mind  immediately  and  made  arrange- 
"  ments  to  emigrate  to  the  town  of  York,  afterwards 
"called  Toronto.  Accordingly,  on  the  i6th  day  of 
"  April,  1832,  our  family,  consisting  of  my  parents, 
"  five  sons,  myself  and  a  younger  sister,  bade  adieu 
"  to  England.  We  had  a  tedious  voyage  of  six 
"  weeks  across  the  ocean,  and  my  mother  was  sick 
"  during  the  entire  voyage.  During  the  passage 
"  across  there  were  three  deaths  on  board — one  of 
"  the  three  being  my  brother  Elias,  whom  we  sor- 
"  rowfully  consigned  to  a  watery  grave. 

"  Our  ship  anchored  at  Quebec  in  May,  and  after 
"  a  tedious  passage  up  the  St.  Lawrence  by  steamer, 
"we  landed  in  safety  at  the  town  of  York,  June  i6th, 
"  thankful  that  we  were  at  our  journey's  end.  Here 
"  we  were  in  a  strange  land,  and  to  our  dismay  we 
11  found  that  the  cholera  was  raging  fearfully  in  that 
"  region  ;  but  through  all  of  those  trying  scenes  the 
"  Lord  preserved  us  in  health. 


232  THP:    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM. 

"In  the  spring  of  1833  we  removed  into  the 
'  country  about  eight  miles,  to  a  place  located  in  the 
f<  township  of  York,  and  in  the  spring  of  1834  I 
'*  attended  a  Methodist  camp-meeting  in  that  neigh- 
borhood, where  I  formed  the  acquaintance  of  Mr. 
'*  Joseph  Home,  who  is  now  my  husband. 

"  The  most  of  the  time  for  the  next  two  years  I 
"lived  in  service  in  the  city  of  Toronto,  going  once 
"  in  three  months  to  visit  my  parents. 

*  On  the  Qth  day  of  May,  1836,  I  was  married  to 
"  Mr.  Home.  He  owned  a  farm  about  one  mile  from 
"my  father's  house,  and  I  removed  to  his  residence 
"soon  after  our  marriage.  I  now  felt  that  I  was 
"  settled  in  life ;  and,  although  I  had  not  been  used 
"  to  farm  work,  I  milked  cows,  fed  pigs  and  chickens, 
"and  made  myself  at  home  in  my  new  situation, 
"  seeking  to  make  my  home  pleasant  for  my  hus- 
"  band,  and  working  to  advance  his  interests. 

"  About  the  first  of  June,  of  that  year,  report 
"  came  to  us  that  a  man  professing  to  be  sent  of  God 
"  to  preach  to  the  people  would  hold  a  meeting 
"  about  a  mile  from  our  house.  My  husband  decided 
"that  we  should  go  and  hear  him.  We  accordingly 
"  went,  and  there  first  heard  Elder  Orson  Pratt. 
"  We  were  very  much  pleased  with  his  sermon. 
"  Another  meeting  was  appointed  for  the  following 
"week,  and  Elder  Pratt  told  us  that  business  called 
"  him  away,  but  his  brother,  Parley  P.  Pratt,  would 
"  be  with  us  and  preach  in  his  stead.  I  invited  my 
"  father  to  go  with  us  to  hear  him,  and  the  appointed 
"evening  found  all  of  his  family  at  the  'Mormon' 
"  meeting.  Elder  Pratt  told  us  that  God  was  an  un- 
"  changable  being — the  same  yesterday,  to-day,  and 


THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM.  233 

"  forever — and  taught  us  the  gospel  in  its  purity ; 
;  hen  showed  from  the  Bible  that  the  gospel  was 
"  the  same  in  all  ages  of  the  world ;  but  man  had 
"  wandered  from  God  and  the  true  gospel,  and  that 
"the  Lord  had  sent  an  angel  to  Joseph  Smith, 
"  restoring  to  him  the  pure  gospel  with  its  gifts  and 
"  blessings.  My  father  was  so  delighted  with  th« 
"  sermon  that  he  left  the  Methodist  Church  and  at- 
"  tended  the '  Mormon  meetings '  altogether ;  and  in  a 
"  short  time  every  member  of  his  family  had  received 
"  and  obeyed  the  gospel.  This  made  quite  a  stir 
"  among  the  Methodists.  One  of  the  class-leaders 
"  came  to  converse  with  us,  and  used  every  argument 
"he  could  to  convince  us  that  Mormonism  was 
"false,  but  without  avail.  'Well, 'said  he,  finally, 
"'there  are  none  but  children  and  fools  who  join 
"  them/ and  left  us  to  our  fate.  In  July  (1836)  I 
"was  baptized  by  Orson  Hyde,  and  ever  after  that 
"  our  house  was  open  for  meetings,  and  became  a 
"  home  for  many  of  the  elders. 

"  The  following  from  Brother  Parley  P.  Pratt's 
"  autobiography,  is  a  truthful  statement  of  a  circum- 
"  stance  which  occurred  in  the  fall  of  that  year,  and 
"  to  which  I  can  bear  witness,  as  it  was  of  my  own 
"  personal  observation,  the  lady  in  question  being  a 
"neighbor  of  ours.  He  says: 

"'Now,  there  was  living  in  that  neighborhood  a 
"  young  man  and  his  wife,  named  Whitney  ;  he  was 
"  a  blacksmith  by  trade  ;  their  residence  was  perhaps 
"a  mile  or  more  from  Mr.  Lamphere's,  where  I  held 
"  my  semi-monthly  meetings.  His  wife  was  taken 
"  down  very  suddenly  about  that  time  with  a  strange 
"  affliction.  She  would  be  prostrated  by  some  power 


234  THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM. 

"  invisible  to  those  about  her,  and  suffer  an  agony 
"  of  distress  indescribable.  She  often  cried  out  that 
"  she  could  see  two  devils  in  human  form,  who  were 
"  thus  operating  upon  her,  and  that  she  could  hear 
"  them  talk  ;  but,  as  the  bystanders  could  not  see 
"  them,  but  only  see  the  effects,  they  did  not  know 
"  what  to  think  or  how  to  understand. 

" '  She  would  have  one  of  these  spells  once  in 
"  about  twenty-four  hours,  and  when  it  had  passed 
fi  she  would  lie  in  bed  so  lame,  bruised,  sore,  and 
"  helpless  that  she  could  not  rise  alone,  or  even  sit 
"  up,  for  some  weeks.  All  this  time  she  had  to  have 
"  watchers  both  night  and  day,  and  sometimes  four 
"and  five  at  a  time,  insomuch  that  the  neighbors 
"  were  worn  out  and  weary  with  watching.  Mr. 
"  Whitney  sent  word  for  me  two  or  three  times,  or 
11  left  word  for  me  to  call  next  time  I  visited  the  neigh- 
borhood. This,  however,  I  had  neglected  to  do, 
"  owing  to  the  extreme  pressure  of  labors  upon  me 
"  in  so  large  a  circuit  of  meetings — indeed  I  had  not 
"  a  moment  to  spare.  At  last,  as  I  came  round  on 
"  the  circuit  again,  the  woman,  who  had  often  re- 
"  quested  to  see  the  man  of  God,  that  he  might 
"  minister  to  her  relief,  declared  she  would  see  him 
"  anyhow,  for  she  knew  she  could  be  healed  if  she 
"could  but  get  sight  of  him.  In  her  agony  she 
"  sprang  from  her  bed,  cleared  herself  from  her 
"  frightened  husband  and  others,  who  were  trying  to 
"  hold  her,  and  ran  for  Mr.  Lamphere's,  where  I  was 
"  then  holding  meeting.  At  first,  to  use  her  own 
"  words,  she  felt  very  weak,  and  nearly  fainted,  but 
"  her  strength  came  to  her,  and  increased  at  every  step 
"  till  she  reached  the  meeting.  Her  friends  were  all 


THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM.  235 

"  astonished,  and  in  alarm,  lest  she  should  die  in  the 
"  attempt,  tried  to  pursue  her,  and  they  several  times 
"  laid  hold  of  her  and  tried  to  force  or  persuade  her 
"  back.  '  No/  said  she,  '  let  me  see  the  man  of  God ; 
"  I  can  but  die,  and  I  cannot  endure  such  affliction 
"  any  longer/  On  she  came,  until  at  last  they  gave 
"  up,  and  said,  '  Let  her  go,  perhaps  it  will  be  accord- 
"  ing  to  her  faith/  So  she  came,  and  when  the  thing 
"was  explained  the  eyes  of  the  whole  multitude 
"  were  upon  her.  I  ceased  to  preach,  and,  stepping 
"  to  her  in  the  presence  of  the  whole  meeting,  I  laid 
"  my  hands  upon  her  and  said,  '  Sister,  be  of  'good 
"  cheer,  thy  sins  are  forgiven,  thy  faith  hath  made 
"  thee  whole;  and,  in  the  name  of  Jesus  Christ,  I 
11  rebuke  the  devils  and  unclean  spirits,  and  com- 
"  mand  them  to  trouble  thee  no  more/  She  returned 
"  home  well,  went  about  her  housekeeping,  and 
"  remained  well  from  that  time  forth/ 

"In  the  latter  part  of  the  summer  of  1837,"  con- 
tinues Mrs.  Home,  "  I  had  the  great  pleasure  of 
"  being  introduced  to,  and  entertaining,  the  beloved 
"  prophet,  Joseph  Smith,  with  Sidney  Rigdon  and 
"  T.  B.  Marsh.  I  said  to  myself,  <  O  Lord,  I  thank 
"  thee  for  granting  the  desire  of  my  girlish  heart,  in 
"  permitting  me  to  associate  with  prophets  and  apos- 
"  ties/  On  shaking  hands  with  Joseph  Smith,  I 
"  received  the  holy  spirit  in  such  great  abundance 
"that  I  felt  it  thrill  my  whole  system,  from  the 
"  crown  of  my  head  to  the  soles  of  my  feet.  I 
"  thought  I  had  never  beheld  so  lovely  a  counte- 
"  nance.  Nobility  and  goodness  were  in  every 
"  feature. 

"  The  saints  in  Kirtland  removed  in  the  following 


236  THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM. 

"spring  to  Missouri.  We  started  from  Canada  in 
"  March,  1838,  with  a  small  company  of  saints.  The 
"  roads  were  very  bad,  as  the  frost  was  coming  out 
"of  the  ground,  consequently  I  had  to  drive  the 
"team  during  a  great  portion  of  the  journey,  while 
"  my  husband  walked. 

"  On  arriving  at  Huntsville,  one  hundred  miles 
"  from  Far  West,  we  found  several  families  of  saints, 
"  and  tarried  a  short  time  with  them.  There  I  was  in- 
"  troduced  to  the  parents  of  the  prophet,  and  also  to 
"his  cousin,  George  A.  Smith.  At  a  meeting  held 
"  in  that  place  I  received  a  patriarchal  blessing  from 
"  Joseph  Smith,  Sr.  He  told  me  that  I  had  to  pass 
"  through  a  great  deal  of  sickness,  sorrow  and  tribu- 
"lation,  but 'the  Lord  will  bring  you  through  six 
"  troubles,  and  in  the  seventh  he  will  not  leave  you  ;' 
"  all  of  which  has  verily  been  fulfilled." 

Mrs.  Home,  with  her  husband  and  family,  reached 
Far  West  in  August  of  that  year,  and  received  their 
full  share  of  the  privations  incident  to  the  settle- 
ment of  that  city,  and  also  a  full  share  of  exposure, 
sickness  and  peril  incident  to  the  expulsion  of  the 
saints  from  Missouri.  Finally  thereafter  they  gath- 
ered to  Nauvoo ;  and  there  for  the  present  let  us 
leave  them — promising  the  reader  that  Mrs.  Home 
shall  again  come  to  the  front  when  we  treat  of  the 
wonderful  missionary  efforts  of  the  Mormon  women 
in  Utah. 


CHAPTER  XXIV. 

MORMONISM     CARRIED    TO     GREAT     BRITAIN "  TRUTH 

WILL    PREVAIL  " THE    REV.    MR.    FIELDING FIRST 

BAPTISM  IN    ENGLAND FIRST  WOMAN  BAPTIZED 

STORY     OF      MISS      JEANNETTA      RICHARDS FIRST 

BRANCH     OF     THE     CHURCH      IN      FOREIGN      LANDS 

ORGANIZED    AT     THE     HOUSE    OF     ANN      DAWSON 

FIRST     CHILD     BORN     INTO    THE     CHURCH     IN    ENG- 
LAND  ROMANTIC       SEQUEL VILATE       KIMBALL 

AGAIN. 

The  voice  of  prophesy  was  no  longer  hushed  ; 
the  heavens  were  no  longer  sealed ;  the  Almighty 
really  spoke  to  these  prophets  and  apostles  of  the 
latter  days  ;  their  words  were  strangely,  sometimes 
romantically,  fulfilled ;  the  genius  of  Mormonism 
was  alike  potent  at  home  and  abroad. 

"  Thou  shalt  go  to  Upper  Canada,  even  to  the 
"  city  of  Toronto,  and  there  thou  shalt  find  a  people 
"  prepared  for  the  fullness  of  the  gospel,  and  they 
"  shall  receive  thee  ;"  the  prophet  Heber  had  oracled 
over  the  head  of  a  fellow  laborer,  "  and  from  the 
"  things  growing  out  of  this  mission  shall  the  full- 
"  ness  of  the  gospel  spread  into  England  and  cause 
"  a  great  work  to  be  done  in  that  land." 

One  part  of  this  prophesy  the  reader  has  seen 


238  THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM. 

exactly  fulfilled  in  the  mission  of  Parley  P.  Pratt  to 
Canada,  enlivened  with  some  very  interesting  epi- 
sodes. It  falls  upon  Heber  himself — the  father  of 
the  British  mission — to  fulfill,  with  the  brethren 
who  accompany  him,  the  supreme  part  of  the  pro- 
phesy referring  to  Great  Britain. 

It  will  be  remembered  from  the  sketch  of  Vilate 
Kimball,  that  Mary  Fielding  gave  to  Heber  five 
dollars  to  help  him  on  his  journey,  and  that  she  with 
her  sister  and  her  sister's  husband,  Elder  R.  B. 
Thompson,  were  on  their  way  to  Canada  to  engage 
in  the  second  mission  to  that  Province,  while  Heber, 
Orson  Hyde,  Willard  Richards,  and  Joseph  Field- 
ing, with  several  other  brethren  from  Canada, 
pursued  their  course  to  England. 

It  was  July  ist,  1837,  when  these  elders  embarked 
on  board  the  ship    Garrick,  bound   for   Liverpool,  -, 
which  they  reached  on  the  2Oth  of  the  same  month. 

On  their  arrival  in  that  foreign  land  the  three 
principal  elders — Heber,  Orson  and  Willard — had 
not  as  much  as  one  farthing  in  their  possession,  yet 
were  they  destined  to  accomplish  marvelous  results 
ere  their  return  to  America. 

Having  remained  two  days  in  Liverpool,  these 
elders  were  directed  by  the  spirit  to  go  to  Preston, 
a  flourishing  English  town  in  Lancashire,  to  plant 
the  standard  of  their  Church. 

It  generally  came  to  pass  that  some  singular  inci- 
dent occurred  in  all  of  the  initial  movements  of 
these  elders,  opening  their  way  before  them,  or 
omening  their  success.  So  now,  the  people  of  Pres- 
ton were  celebrating  a  grand  national  occasion. 
Queen  Victoria,  a  few  days  previously  (July  I7th), 


THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM.  239 

had  ascended  the  throne.  A  fitting  event  this  to 
notice  in  a  woman's  book.  The  "  Woman's  Age" 
dawned,  not  only  upon  England,  but,  it  would  seem, 
upon  all  of  the  civilized  world. 

A  general  election  was  being  held  throughout  the 
realm  in  consequence  of  the  ascension  of  the  Queen. 
The  populace  were  parading  the  streets  of  Preston, 
bands  were  playing,  and  flags  flying. 

In  the  midst  of  this  universal  joy  the  elders 
alighted  from  the  coach,  and  just  at  that  moment  a 
flag  was  unfurled  over  their  heads,  from  the  hotel, 
bearing  this  motto  in  gold  letters :  "  Truth  is  mighty 
"  and  will  prevail  !"  It  was  as  a  prophesy  to  these 
elders,  as  if  to  welcome  their  coming,  and  they 
lifted  up  their  voices  and  shouted,  "  Glory  be  to 
"  God,  truth  will  prevail !"  By  the  way,  this  flag 
proclaimed  the  rise  of  the  temperance  movement 
in  England. 

That  night  Heber  and  his  compeers  were  enter- 
tained by  the  Rev.  James  Fielding,  the  brother  of 
the  sisters  Fielding.  Already  was  the  other  half  of 
the  prophesy  uttered  over  the  head  of  Parley  being 
fulfilled — that  the  gospel  should  spread  from  Canada 
into  England,  "and  cause  a  great  work  to  be  done 
"  in  that  land." 

Previously  to  this  the  Rev.  James  Fielding  had  re- 
ceived letters  from  his  brother  Joseph,  and  his  sisters, 
who  had,  as  we  have  seen,  embraced  Mormonism  in 
Canada  ;  and  these  letters,  burdened  with  the  tidings 
of  the  advent  of  the  prophet  of  America  and  the 
administration  of  angels  in  our  own  times,  he  read 
to  his  congregation.  He  also  exhorted  his  flock  to 
pray  fervently  that  the  Lord  would  send  over  to 


240  THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM. 

England  his  apostles,  and  solemnly  adjured  them  to 
receive  their  message  when  they  should  come  bear- 
ing their  glad  tidings.  Thus  in  England,  as  in 
Canada,  a  people  were  " prepared"  according  to  the 
prophesy. 

On  Sunday  morning,  the  day  after  their  arrival 
in  Preston,  the  elders  went  to  Vauxhall  Chapel  to 
hear  the  Rev.  James  Fielding  preach.  At  the  close 
of  his  discourse  he  gave  out  that  in  the  afternoon 
and  evening  meetings  ministers  from  America  would 
preach  in  his  chapel. 

The  news  spread  rapidly  in  the  town,  and  in  a 
few  hours  quite  a  sensation  was  abroad  among  the 
inhabitants,  who  flocked  to  the  chapel  at  the  ap- 
pointed times,  some  out  of  curiosity,  others  from 
a  genuine  interest.  Both  in  the  afternoon  and 
evening  the  chapel  was  crowded,  and  the  apostles 
preached  their  opening  sermons,  Heber  C.  Kimball 
being  the  first  of  them  who  bore  his  testimony  to 
"  Mormonism  "  in  foreign  lands. 
.  On  the  following  Wednesday  Vauxhall  Chapel  was 
again  crowded,  when  Elder  Orson  Hyde  preached, 
and  Willard  Richards  bore  testimony ;  and  the 
Holy  Ghost,  we  are  told,  powerfully  accompanied 
the  word  on  the  occasion. 

Only  a  few  days  had  passed  since  the  elders 
arrived  on  the  shores  of  Great  Britain,  yet  "  a 
"  number  believed  and  began  to  praise  God  and 
41  rejoice  exceedingly." 

The  Rev.  Mr.  Fielding,  however,  saw  now  the 
consequence  of  all  this.  He  was  in  danger  of  losing 
his  entire  flock.  Many  were  resolving  to  be  bap- 
tized into  the  Church  of  Latter-day  Saints.  A 


THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM.  24! 

continuation  of  this  result  for  a  few  weeks  signified 
the  entire  dissolution  of  his  own  church.  He  was 
in  consternation  at  the  prospect.  Trembling,  it  is- 
said,  as  if  suddenly  stricken  with  the  palsy,  he  pre- 
sented himself  before  the  elders  on  the  morning 
appointed  for  the  baptism  of  a  number  of  his  former 
disciples,  and  forbade  the  baptism.  Of  course  this 
was  in  vain.  He  had  met  the  inevitable. 

On  Sunday,  July  3Oth,  just  one  month  from  the 
time  the  elders  embarked  at  New  York,  the  eventful 
scene  occurred  in  Preston,  of  the  baptism  in  the 
River  Ribble  of  the  nine  first  converts  to  Mor- 
monism  in  foreign  lands.  They  were 

George  D.  Watt,  Ann  Elizabeth  Walmesley, 

Thomas  Walmesley,      George  Wate, 
Miles  Hodgen,  Mary  Ann   Brown, 

Henry  Billsburg,  -  Miller, 

Ann  Dawson. 

A  public  ceremony  of  baptism  in  the  open  air 
was  such  a  novel  event  in  England  at  that  time, 
when  religious  innovations  were  so  rare,  that  seven 
or  eight  thousand  persons  assembled  on  the  banks 
of  the  river  to  witness  the  scene.  It  is  said  that 
this  was  the  first  time  baptism  by  immersion  was 
ever  thus  administered  in  England,  though  at  a 
later  period  several  sects  of  Baptists  arose  who  im- 
mersed openly  in  the  rivers  and  for  the  remission 
of  sins.  Such  scenes  were  picturesque,  and  some 
of  the  "  new  lights  "  seem  to  have  delighted  in  them 
for  their  religious  sensation,  just  as  the  Methodists 
did  in  their  camp  meetings. 

The  first  woman  whose  name  is  recorded  in  the 
list    of   the  baptized    of  the    Mormon    Church    in 

16 


242  THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM. 

England  is  Sister  Ann  Elizabeth  Walmesley ;  and 
her  case  presents  the  first  miracle  of  the  Church  in 
foreign  lands.  Here  is  the  incident  as  related  by 
Heber  C.  Kimball : 

"  I  had  visited  Thomas  Walmesley,  whose  wife 
"was  sick  of  the  consumption,  and  had  been  so  for 
"  several  years.  She  was  reduced  to  skin  and  bone— 
"  a  mere  skeleton — and  was  given  up  by  the  doctors 
"  to  die.  I  preached  the  gospel  to  her,  and  promised 
"  her  in  the  name  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  that  if  she 
"  would  believe,  repent  and  be  baptized,  she  should 
"  be  healed  of  her  sickness.  She  was  carried  to  the 
"  water,  and  after  her  baptism  began  to  mend,  and 
"  at  her  confirmation  she  was  blessed  and  her  dis- 
"  ease  rebuked,  when  she  immediately  recovered, 
"  and  in  less  than  one  week  after,  she  was  attending 
"  to  her  household  duties." 

This  incident  will  be  the  more  interesting  to  the 
reader  from  the  fact  that  to-day  (forty  years  after 
the  miracle)  Sister  Walmesley  is  living  at  Bloom- 
ington,  Bear  Lake  Valley,  Oneida  county,  Idaho. 

Next  came  quite  an  evangelical  episode,  intro- 
ducing, with  a  touch  of  romance,  Miss  Jennetta 
Richards. 

This  young  lady  was  the  daughter  of  a  minister, 
of  the  independent  order,  who  resided  at  Walker- 
fold,  about  fifteen  miles  from  Preston.  She  was  not 
only  personally  interesting  and  intelligent,  but,  from 
the  influence  she  possessed  over  her  father  and  his 
congregation,  coupled  with  the  fact  that  the  most 
classical  of  the  apostles  "  fell  in  love  "  with  her,  she 
appears  to  have  been  a  maiden  of  considerable 
character.  She  was  a  proper  person  to  be  the 


THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM.  243 

heroine  of  the  British  mission,  and  her  conversion 
was  very  important  in  its  results,  as  will  be  seen  in 
the  following  incidents,  related  by  Heber: 

It  was  several  days  after  the  public  baptism  in 
Preston.  "  Miss  Jennetta  Richards,"  says  the  apos- 
tle, "  came  to  the  house  of  Thomas  Walmesley,  with 
"  whom  she  was  acquainted.  Calling  in  to  see  them 
"at  the  time  she  was  there,  I  was  introduced  to  her, 
41  and  we  immediately  entered  into  conversation  on 
"the  subject  of  the  gospel.  I  found  her  very  intel- 
"  ligent.  She  seemed  very  desirous  to  hear  the 
"  things  I  had  to  teach  and  to  understand  the 
"  doctrines  of  the  gospel.  I  informed  her  of  my 
"  appointment  to  preach  that  evening,  and  invited 
"  her  to  attend.  She  did  so  ;  and  likewise  the  even- 
"  ing  following.  After  attending  these  two  services 
"  she  was  fully  convinced  of  the  truth. 

"  Friday  morning,  4th,  she  sent  for  me,  desiring 
"  to  be  baptized,  which  request  I  cheerfully  complied 
"  with,  in  the  River  Ribble,  and  confirmed  her  at 
"  the  water  side,  Elder  Hyde  assisting.  This  was 
"the  first  confirmation  in  England.  The  following 
"  day  she  started  for  home,  and  wept  as  she  was 
"  about  to  leave  us.  I  said  to  her,  '  Sister,  be  of 
"  good  cheer,  for  the  Lord  will  soften  the  heart  of 
"  thy  father,  that  I  will  yet  have  the  privilege  of 
"  preaching  in  his  chapel,  and  it  shall  result  in  a 
"  great  opening  to  preach  the  gospel  in  that  region/ 
"  I  exhorted  her  to  pray  and  be  humble.  She  re- 
"  quested  me  to  pray  for  her,  and  gave  me  some 
"encouragement  to  expect  that  her  father  would 
"  open  his  chapel  for  me  to  preach  in.  I  then  has- 
"tened  to  my  brethren,  told  them  of  the  circum- 


244  THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM. 

"stances  and  the  result  of  my  visit  with  the  young 
"lady,  and  called  upon  them  to  unite  with  me  in 
"  prayer  that  the  Lord  would  soften  the  heart  of  her 
"  father,  that  he  might  be  induced  to  open  his  chapel 
"  for  us  to  preach  in." 

On  the  third  Sabbath  after  the  arrival  of  the 
elders  in  England,  they  met  at  the  house  of  Sister 
Ann  Dawson,  when  twenty-seven  members  were 
confirmed  and  the  first  branch  of  the  Church  was 
organized  in  foreign  lands.  In  the  forepart  of  the 
ensuing  week  Heber  received  a  letter  from  Miss 
Jennetta  Richards,  and  an  invitation  from  her  father 
to  come  to  Walkerfold  and  preach  in  his  chapel. 
The  invitation  was  accepted,  and  Heber  met  with 
great  success  in  laying  the  gospel  before  the  con- 
gregation of  Mr.  Richards ;  so  successful  was  he 
indeed  that  the  reverend  gentleman  was  forced  to 
shut  his  chapel  doors  in  order  to  prevent  a  complete 
stampede  of  his  flock. 

This  evangelical  success  is  crowned  with  an  inter- 
esting incident  between  Jennetta  and  Elder  Willard 
Richards.  Willard,  who  had  been  on  a  mission  to 
Bedford  early  in  January,  1838,  visited  his  brethren 
at  Preston  ;  and  then,  he  says  : 

"  I  took  a  tour  through  the  branches,  and  preached. 
"  While  walking  in  Thornly  I  plucked  a  snowdrop, 
"far  through  the  hedge,  and  carried  it  to  James 
"  Mercer's  and  hung  it  up  in  his  kitchen.  Soon 
"after  Jennetta  Richards  came  into  the  room,  and  I 
"  walked  with  her  and  Alice  Parker  to  Ribchester, 
11  and  attended  meeting  with  Brothers  Kimball  and 
"  Hyde,  at  Brother  Clark's. 

"  While  walking  with  these  sisters,  I   remarked, 


THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM.  245 

*' '  Richards  is  a  good  name  ;  I  never  want  to  change 
"it;  do  you,  Jennetta?'  'No;  I  do  not/ was  her 
"  reply,  '  and  I  think  I  never  will.' " 

The  following  note  in  his  diary  of  the  same  year, 
furnishes  the  sequel : 

"  September  24, 1839, 1  married  Jennetta  Richards, 
"  daughter  of  the  Rev.  John  Richards,  independent 
"  minister  at  Walkerfold,  Chaidgley,  Lancashire. 
"  Most  truly  do  I  praise  my  Heavenly  Father  for 
"  his  great  kindness  in  providing  me  a  partner  ac- 
"  cording  to  his  promise.  I  receive  her  from  the 
"  Lord,  and  hold  her  at  his  disposal.  I  pray  that 
"  he  may  bless  us  forever.  Amen  ! " 

Passing  from  Sister  Jennetta  Richards,  we  now 
introduce  the  first  child  born  in  the  British  mission. 
It  is  a  female  child.  She  is  also  the  first  infant 
blessed  in  England;  and  the  incidents  of  her  birth 
and  blessing  are  both  pretty  and  novel,  especially 
when  coupled  with  the  sequel  of  her  womanhood. 
Heber  thus  tells  the  initial  part  of  her  story : 

"  She  was  the  daughter  of  James  and  Nancy 
"Smithies,  formerly  Nancy  Knowles.  After  she 
"  was  born  her  parents  wanted  to  take  her  to  the 
"  church  to  be  sprinkled,  or  christened,  as  they  call 
"  it.  I  used  every  kind  of  persuasion  to  convince 
"  them  of  their  folly — it  being  contrary  to  the  Scrip- 
"  tures  and  the  will  of  God ;  the  parents  wept  bit- 
"  terly,  and  it  seemed  as  though  I  could  not  prevail 
"  on  them  to  omit  it.  I  wanted  to  know  of  them 
"  why  they  were  so  tenacious.  The  answer  was,  '  If 
"  she  dies  she  cannot  have  a  burial  in  the  church- 
"  yard/  I  said  to  them,  '  Brother  and  Sister  Smithies, 
"  I  say  unto  you  in  the  name  of  Israel's  God,  she 


246  THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM. 

"  shall  not  die  on  this  land,  for  she  shall  live  until 
"she  becomes  a  mother  in  Israel,  and  I  say  it  in  the 
"  name  of  Jesus  Christ,  and  by  virtue  of  the  holy 
"  priesthood  vested  in  me/  That  silenced  them,  and 
"  when  she  was  two  weeks  old  they  presented  the 
"  child  to  me ;  I  took  it  in  my  arms  and  blessed  it, 
"  that  it  should  live  to  become  a  mother  in  Israel. 
"  She  was  the  first  child  blessed  in  that  country,  and 
"  the  first  born  unto  them." 

The  child  lived,  and  fulfilled  the  prophesy  that 
she  should  become  a  "mother  in  Israel."  Her  birth 
was  destined  to  glorify  Heber's  own  kingdom,  for 
she,  twenty  years  afterwards,  became  his  last  wife, 
and  is  now  the  mother  of  four  of  his  children. 

The  gospel  spread  rapidly  during  the  first  mission 
of  the  elders  in  England.  In  eight  months  two 
thousand  were  baptized,  and  the  "  signs  followed  the 
"believers."  We  shall  meet  some  of  the  British 
converts  hereafter,  and  read  the  testimonies  of  the 
sisters  concerning  the  great  spiritual  work  of  Mor- 
monism  in  their  native  land. 

Heber,  and  Orson  Hyde,  returned  to  America, 
leaving  the  British  mission  in  charge  of  Joseph 
Fielding,  with  Willard  Richards  and  William  Clay- 
ton as  councilors.  Here  the  apostolic  thread  con- 
nects with  the  wife  and  family  of  Heber,  who  have 
been  left  to  the  care  of  Providence  and  the  broth- 
erly and  sisterly  love  of  the  saints  during  this 
immortal  mission  to  Great  Britain.  His  daughter 
Helen,  in  her  journal,  says  : 

"In  the  absence  of  my  father  the  Lord  was  true 
"  to  his  promise.  My  father's  prayer,  that  he*:  had 
"  made  upon  the  heads  of  his  wife  and  little  ones 


THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM.  247 

u  whom  he  had  left  poor  and  destitute,  was  answered. 
"  Kind  friends  came  forward  to  cheer  and  comfort 
"them,  and  administer  to  their  wants. 

"  Soon  after  my  father's  return  to  Kirtland  he 
"  commenced  making  preparations  to  move  his 
"family  to  Missouri,  where  Brother  Joseph  Smith 
"  and  a  majority  of  the  church  authorities  and  nearly 
"  all  of  the  members  had  gone.  About  the  first  of 
"July  he  commenced  the  journey  with  his  family, 
"accompanied  by  Brother  Orson  Hyde  and  others, 
"and  arrived  in  Far  West  on  the  25th  of  July,  when 
"he  had  a  happy  meeting  with  Joseph,  Hyrum, 
"  Sidney,  and  others  of  the  twelve,  and  numbers  of 
"  his  friends  and  brethren,  some  of  whom  were 
"  affected  to  tears  when  they  took  him  by  the  hand. 
"  During  our  journey  from  Kirtland,  the  weather 
"being  very  warm,  we  suffered  very  much,  and  were 
"  much  reduced  by  sickness.  Father  continued  quite 
"feeble  for  a  considerable  length  of  time.  Joseph 
"requested  him  to  preach  to  the  saints,  saying,  '  It 
"  will  revive  their  spirits  and  do  them  good  if  you 
"  will  give  them  a  history  of  your  mission ;'  which  he 
"did,  although  he  was  scarcely  able  to  stand.  It 
"  cheered  their  hearts  and  many  of  the  elders  were 
"stirred  up  to  diligence. 

"  Soon  after  our  arrival  Bishop  Partridge  gave 
"  father  a  lot,  and  also  sufficient  timber  to  build  a 
"  house.  While  it  was  being  erected  we  lived  in  a 
"  place  eight  by  eleven  feet  and  four  feet  high  at  the 
"  eaves,  which  had  been  built  for  a  cow.  The  breth- 
*'  ren  were  remarkably  kind,  and  contributed  to  our 
"  necessities.  Brother  Charles  Hubbard  made  my 
"  father  a  present  of  forty  acres  of  land ;  another 


248  THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM. 

"  brother  gave  him  a  cow.  But  about  the  last  of 
"  August,  after  he  had  labored  hard  and  nearly  fin- 
"  ished  his  house,  he  was  obliged  to  abandon  it  to 
"  the  mob,  who  again  commenced  to  persecute  the 
"  saints." 

The  history  of  those  persecutions,  and  the  exodus 
of  the  saints,  is  already  sufficiently  told.  Suffice  it 
to  say  that  Sister  Vilate  nobly  bore  her  part  in  those 
trying  scenes,  while  Heber,  with  Brigham  and  the 
rest  of  the  twelve,  kept  their  covenant — never  to 
rest  a  moment  until  the  last  faithful  saint  was  deliv- 
ered from  that  State,  and  the  feet  of  the  whole 
people  planted  firmly,  in  peace  and  safety,  in  a  new 
gathering  place. 


CHAPTER   XXV. 

SKETCH  OF    THE    SISTERS    MARY    AND    MERCY  R.  FIELD- 
ING  THE    FIELDINGS  A  SEMI-APOSTOLIC  FAMILY— 

THEIR    IMPORTANT   INSTRUMENTALITY  IN  OPENING 

THE    BRITISH    MISSION MARY     FIELDING    MARRIES 

HYRUM      SMITH HER     TRIALS     AND     SUFFERINGS 

WHILE    HER    HUSBAND    IS    IN    PRISON TESTIMONY 

OF    HER    SISTER     MERCY MARY'S    LETTER    TO    HER 

BROTHER    IN    ENGLAND. 

Already  has  the  name  of  Mary  Fielding  become 
quite  historical  to  the  reader,  but  she  is  now  to  be 
introduced  in  her  still  more  representative  character 
as  wife  of  the  patriarch  and  martyr  Hyrum,  and  as 
mother  of  the  apostle  Joseph  F.  Smith. 

This  much-respected  lady  was  born  July  2ist, 
1801,  at  Honidon,  Bedfordshire,  England.  She  was 
the  daughter  of  John  and  Rachel  Fielding,  and  was 
the  eldest  of  the  sisters  whom  the  reader  has  met 
somewhat  prominently  in  an  apostolic  incident  in 
Canada,  out  of  which  much  of  the  early  history  of 
the  British  mission  very  directly  grew. 

Mary  was  of  good  family,  well  educated,  and 
piously  raised,  being  originally  a  Methodist,  and  a 
devoted  admirer  of  the  character  of  John  Wesley. 
Indeed  the  family  of  the  Fieldings  and  their  con- 


250  THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM. 

nections  were  semi-apostolic  even  before  their  iden- 
tification with  the  Church  of  Latter-day  Saints. 

In  1834  Mary  emigrated  to  Canada.  Here  she 
joined  her  youngest  brother,  Joseph,  and  her  sister, 
Mercy  Rachel  (born  in  England  in  1807),  who  had 
preceded  her  to  America  in  1832.  As  we  have  seen, 
this  brother  and  his  two  sisters  were  living  near 
Toronto,  Upper  Canada,  at  the  time-when  Parley  P. 
Pratt  arrived  there  on  his  mission,  and  they  imme- 
diately embraced  the  faith.  This  was  in  May,  1836. 

In  the  following  spring  the  Fieldings  gathered  to 
Kirtland.  Soon  the  youngest  of  the  sisters,  Mercy 
Rachel,  was  married  by  the  prophet  to  Elder  Robert 
B.  Thompson,  one  of  the  literati  of  the  Church, 
who  was  appointed  on  a  mission  to  Canada  with  his 
wife.  At  the  same  time  Joseph  Fielding  was  ap- 
pointed on  mission  to  England,  to  assist  the  apostles 
in  that  land.  But  Mary  remained  in  Kirtland,  and 
on  the  24th  of  December,  1837,  she  was  married  to 
Hyrum  Smith. 

Here  something  deserves  to  be  told  of  the  Field- 
ing family  in  amplification  of  the  incidental  men- 
tionings  already  made. 

The  Rev.  James  Fielding  (of  Preston,  England), 
Mary's  brother,  was  quite  a  religious  reformer,  arfd 
of  sufficient  ministerial  reputation  and  force  to 
become  the  founder  and  head  of  a  Congregational 
Methodist  Church.  Originally  he  was  a  minister  of 
the  regular  body  of  that  powerful  sect,  but  becoming 
convinced  that  modern  Methodists  had  departed 
from  their  primitive  faith,  and  that  their  church  no 
longer  enjoyed  the  Holy  Ghost  and  its  gifts,  which 
measurably  attended  their  illustrious  founder  and 


THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM.  251 

his  early  disciples,  the  Rev.  Mr.  Fielding  inaugurated 
a  religious  reform  in  the  direction  intimated.  It 
was  an  attempt  to  revive  in  his  ministerial  sphere 
the  spiritual  power  of  the  Wesleyan  movement; 
nor  did  he  stop  at  this,  but  sought  to  convince  his 
disciples  of  the  necessity  of  "  contending  earnestly 
for  the  faith  once  delivered  to  the  saints." 

Other  branches  of  the  family  also  became  promi- 
nent in  the  religious  reforms  of  England  that  arose 
about  the  time  of  the  establishing  of  the  Church  of 
Latter-day  Saints  in  America.  One  of  the  Fielding 
sisters  married  no  less  a  personage  than  the  Rev. 
Timothy  R.  Matthews,  who  figured  nearly  as  con- 
spicuously as  the  Rev.  James  Fielding  in  the  early 
history  of  the  British  mission.  This  Rev.  Timothy 
Matthews  was  at  first  minister  of  the  Church  of  Eng- 
land, and  is  said  to  have  been  a  very  able  and  learned 
man.  With  the  famous  Robert  Aitken,  whom  he 
called  his  "son,n  he  attempted  reformation  even  in 
the  established  Church ;  or  rather,  these  innovative 
divines  denounced  the  "apostasy"  of  that  Church, 
and  prosecuted  a  semi-apostolic  mission.  It  was 
eminently  successful,  Robert  Aitken  and  himself 
raising  up  large  congregations  of  disciples  in  Pres- 
ton, Liverpool,  Bedford,  Northampton  and  London. 
These  disciples  were  popularly  called  Aitkenites 
and  Matthewites.  Quite  relevant  is  all  this  to  the 
history  of  the  Latter-day  Saints  in  England,  for  the 
congregations  of  the  Rev.  James  Fielding,  Rev. 
Timothy  R.  Matthews,  and  Rev.  John  Richards 
(father  of  Jennetta),  gave  to  the  apostles  their  first 
disciples  abroad,  and  these  ministers  themselves  were 
their  instruments  in  establishing  the  British  mission. 


252  THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM. 

But  the  name  of  Fielding,  after  those  of  the  apos- 
tles, was  principal  in  accomplishing  these  results. 
The  sisters  Mary  and  Mercy,  with  Joseph,  half  con- 
verted by  their  letters,  the  congregation  of  their  rev- 
erend brother  in  Preston,  before  the  advent  there  of 
the  apostles.  In  their  Brother  James'  -chapel  the 
first  apostolic  sermon  in  foreign  lands  was  preached 
by  Heber  C.  Kimball,and  it  was  one  of  the  Fielding 
sisters  (Mrs.  Watson),  who  gave  to  the  elders  the 
first  money  for  the  "gospel's  sake"  donated  to  the 
church  abroad. 

But  to  return  to  Kirtland.  Hyrum  Smith  was  a 
widower  at  the  date  of  Mary  Fielding's  arrival  there 
from  Canada.  And  this  means  that  his  only  wife 
was  dead ;  for  polygamy  was  unknown  in  the  Church 
at  that  time.  It  will  therefore,  be  seen  how  perti- 
nent is  the  often-repeated  remark  of  the  sisters  that 
the  saints  were  not  driven  and  persecuted  because 
of  polygamy,  but  because  of  their  belief  in  "  new 
and  continued  revelation."  In  becoming  Hyrum's 
wife,  Mary  assumed  the  responsible  situation  of 
step-mother  to  his  five  children,  the  task  of  which  she 
performed  with  unwavering  fidelity,  taking  care  of 
them  for  years  after  the  martyrdom  of  her  husband, 
and  taking  the  place  ot  both  father  and  mother  to 
them  in  the  exodus  of  the  Church  to  the  Rocky 
Mountains.  And  Mary  was  well  trained  for  this 
latter  task  during  her  husband's  liietime,  besides 
being  matured  in  years  and  character  before  her 
marriage. 

From  Kirtland,  with  her  husband  and  family,  she 
removed  to  Far  West,  Mo.,  where,  on  the  first  day 
of  November,  1838,  her  husband  and  his  brother, 


THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM.  253 

the  prophet,  with  others,  were  betrayed  by  the  Mor- 
mon Colonel  Hinkle  into  the  hands  of  the  armed 
mob  under  General  Clark,  in  the  execution  of  Gov. 
Boggs'  exterminating  order.  On  the  following  day 
Hyrum  was  marched,  at  the  point  of  the  bayonet, 
to  his  house,  by  a  strong  guard,  who  with  hideous 
oaths  and  threats  commanded  Mary  to  take  her  last 
farewell  of  her  husband,  for,  "  His  die  was  cast,  and 
his  doom  was  sealed,"  and  she  need  never  think  she 
would  see  him  again  ;  allowing  her  only  a  moment, 
as  it  were,  for  that  terrible  parting,  and  to  provide 
a  change  of  clothes  for  the  final  separation.  In  the 
then  critical  condition  of  her  health  this  heart- 
rending scene  came  nigh  ending  her  life ;  but  the 
natural  vigor  of  her  mind  sustained  her  in  the  ter- 
rible trial.  Twelve  days  afterwards  she  gave  birth 
to  her  first  born,  a  son ;  but  she  remained  prostrate 
on  a  bed  of  affliction  and  suffering  for  several 
months.  In  January,  1839,  she  was  taken  in  a 
wagon,  with  her  infant,  on  her  sick  bed,  to  Liberty, 
Clay  county,  Mo.,  where  she  was  granted  the  priv- 
ilege of  visiting  her  husband  in  jail,  where  he  was 
confined  by  the  mob,  without  trial  or  conviction, 
because,  forsooth,  he  was  a  "  Mormon." 

While  in  this  condition  of  health,  with  her  hus- 
band immured  in  a  dungeon  and  surrounded  by 
fiends  in  human  form,  thirsting  for  his  life,  a  com- 
pany of  armed  men,  led  by  the  notorious  Methodist 
priest,  Bogart,  entered  her  poor  abode  and  searched 
it,  breaking  open  a  trunk  and  carrying  away  papers 
and  valuables  belonging  to  her  husband.  In  this 
helpless  condition  also  she  was  forced  from  what 
shelter  she  had,  in  the  worst  season  of  the  year,  to 


254  THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM. 

cross  the  bleak  prairies  of  Missouri,  expelled  from 
the  State,  to  seek  protection  among  strangers  in  the 
more  hospitable  State  of  Illinois.  Here  is  the  story 
that  her  sister  Mercy  tells  of  those  days  and  scenes  : 

"  In  1838  I  traveled  in  company  with  Hyrum 
"  Smith  and  family  to  Far  West.  To  describe  in  a 
"  brief  sketch  the  scenes  I  witnessed  and  the  suffer- 
"  ings  I  endured  would  be  impossible.  An  incident 
"  or  two,  however,  I  will  relate. 

"  My  husband,  with  many  of  the  brethren,  being 
"threatened  and  pursued  by  a  mob,  fled  into  the 
"  wilderness  in  November,  leaving  me  with  an  infant 
"  not  five  months  old.  Three  months  of  distressing 
"  suspense  I  endured  before  I  could  get  any  intelli- 
"  gence  from  him,  during  which  time  I  staid  with  my 
"sister,  wife  of  Hyrum  Smith,  who,  having  given 
"birth  to  a  son  while  her  husband  was  in  prison, on 
"the  1 3th  of  November  took  a  severe  cold  and  was 
"  unable  to  attend  to  her  domestic  duties  for  four 
"months.  This  caused  much  of  the  care  of  her 
"  family,  which  was  very  large,  to  fall  on  me.  Mobs 
"  were  continually  threatening  to  massacre  the  in- 
"  habitants  of  the  city,  and  at  times  I  feared  to  lay 
"  my  babe  down  lest  they  should  slay  me  and  leave 
"  it  to  suffer  worse  than  immediate  death.  About 
"the  ist  of  February,  1839,  by  tne  request  of  her 
"  husband,  my  sister  was  placed  on  a  bed  in  a  wagon 
"and  taken  a  journey  of  forty  miles,  to  visit  him  in 
"the  prison.  Her  infant  son,  Joseph  F.,  being  then 
"but  about  eleven  weeks  old,  I  had  to  accompany 
"  her,  taking  my  own  babe,  then  near  eight  months 
"old.  The  weather  was  extremely  cold,  and  we 
"suffered  much  on  the  journey.  This  circumstance 


THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM.  255 

"  I  always  reflect  upon  with  peculiar  pleasure,  not- 
"  withstanding  the  extreme  anxiety  I  endured  from 
"  having  the  care  of  my  sick  sister  and  the  two 
"  babes.  The  remembrance  of  having  had  the  honor 
"  of  spending  a  night  in  prison,  in  company  with  the 
"  prophet  and  patriarch,  produces  a  feeling  I  cannot 
41  express.  • , 

"  Shortly  after  our  return  to  Far  West  we  had  to 
"  abandon  our  homes  and  start,  in  lumber  wagons, 
"  for  Illinois  ;  my  sister  being  again  placed  on  a.  bed, 
"  in  an  afflicted  state.  This  was  about  the  middle 
"  of  February,  and  the  weather  was  extremely  cold. 
"  I  still  had  the  care  of  both  babes.  We  arrived  at 
"  Quincy  about  the  end  of  the  month." 

The  following  interesting  letter,  from  Mary  to 
her  brother  Joseph  in  England,  will  fitly  close  for 
the  present  the  sketch  of  these  sisters : 

"  COMMERCE,  111.,  North  America, 

"June,  1839. 

"  MY  VERY  DEAR  BROTHER: 

"  As  the  elders  are  expecting  shortly  to  take  their 
leave  of  us  again  to  preach  the  gospel  in  my  native 
land,  I  feel  as  though  I  would  not  let  the  opportu- 
nity of  writing  you  pass  unimproved.  I  believe  it  will 
give  you  pleasure  to  hear  from  us  by  our  own  hand; 
notwithstanding  you  will  see  the  brethren  face  to 
face,  and  have  an  opportunity  of  hearing  all  partic- 
ulars respecting  us  and  our  families. 

"  As  it  respects  myself,  it  is  now  so  long  since  I 
wrote  to  you,  and  so  many  important  things  have 
transpired,  and  so  great  have  been  my  affliction, 
etc.,  that  I  know  not  where  to  begin  ;  but  I  can  say, 
hitherto  has  the  Lord  preserved  me,  and  I  am  still 
among  the  living  to  praise  him,  as  I  do  to-day.  I 


256  THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM. 

have,  to  be  sure,  been  called  to  drink  deep  of  the 
bitter  cup ;  but  you  know,  my  beloved  brother, 
this  makes  the  sweet  sweeter. 

"  You  have,  I  suppose,  heard  of  the  imprisonment 
of  my  dear  husband,  with  his  brother  Joseph,  Elder 
Rigdon,  and  others,  who  were  kept  from  us  nearly 
six  months ;  and  I  suppose  no  one  felt  the  painful 
effects  of  their  confinement  more  than  myself.  I 
was  left  in  a  way  that  called  for  the  exercise  of  all 
the  courage  and  grace  I  possessed.  My  husband 
was  taken  from  me  by  an  armed  force,  at  a  time 
when  I  needed,  in  a  particular  manner,  the  kindest 
care  and  attention  of  such  a  friend,  instead  of  which, 
the  care  of  a  large  family  was  suddenly  and  unex- 
pectedly left  upon  myself,  and,  in  a  few  days  after, 
my  dear  little  Joseph  F.  was  added  to  the  number. 
Shortly  after  his  birth  I  took  a  severe  cold,  which 
brought  on  chills  and  fever;  this,  together  with  the 
anxiety  of  mind  I  had  to  endure,  threatened  to 
bring  me  to  the  gates  of  death.  I  was  at  least  four 
months  entirely  unable  to  take  any  care  either  of 
myself  or  child ;  but  the  Lord  was  merciful  in  so 
ordering  things  that  my  dear  sister  could  be  with  me. 
Her  child  was  five  months  old  when  mine  was  born  ; 
so  she  had  strength  given  her  to  nurse  them  both. 

"  You  will  also  have  heard  of  our  being  driven, 
as  a  people,  from  the  State,  and  from  our  homes; 
this  happened  during  my  sickness,  and  I  had  to  be 
removed  more  than  two  hundred  miles,  chiefly  on 
my  bed.  I  suffered  much  on  my  journey ;  but  in 
three  or  four  weeks  after  we  arrived  in  Illinois,  I 
began  to  amend,  and  my  health  is  now  as  good  as 
ever.  It  is  now  little  more  than  a  month  since  the 
Lord,  in  his  marvelous  power,  returned  my  dear 
husband,  with  the  rest  of  the  brethren,  to  their 
families,  in  tolerable  health.  We  are  now  living  in 
Commerce,  on  the  bank  of  the  great  Mississippi 
river.  The  situation  is  very  pleasant;  you  would 
be  much  pleased  to  see  it.  How  long  we  may  be 


THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM.  257 

permitted  to  enjoy  it  I  know  not ;  but  the  Lord 
knows  what  is  best  for  us.  I  feel  but  little  con- 
cerned about  where  I  am,  if  I  can  keep  my  mind 
scaid  upon  God  ;  for,  you  know  in  this  there  is  per- 
fect peace.  I  believe  the  Lord  is  overruling  all 
things  for  our  good.  I  suppose  our  enemies  look 
upon  us  with  astonishment  and  disappointment. 

11  I  greatly  desire  to  see  you,  and  I  think  you 
would  be  pleased  to  see  our  little  ones ;  will  you 
pray  for  us,  that  we  may  have  grace  to  train  them 
up  in  the  way  they  should  go,  so  that  they  may  be 
a  blessing  to  us  and  the  world  ?  I  have  a  hope  that 
our  brothers  and  sisters  will  also  embrace  the  full- 
ness of  the  gospel,  and  come  into  the  new  and 
everlasting  covenant ;  I  trust  their  prejudices  will 
give  way  to  the  power  of  truth.  I  would  gladly 
have  them  with  us  here,  even  though  they  might 
have  to  endure  all  kind  of  tribulation  and  affliction 
with  us  and  the  rest  of  the  children  of  God,  in  these 
last  days,  so  that  they  might  share  in  the  glories  of 
the  celestial  kingdom.  As  to  myself,  I  can  truly 
say,  that  I  would  not  give  up  the  prospect  of  the 
latter-day  glory  for  all  that  glitters  in  this  world. 
O,  my  dear  brother,  I  must  tell  you,  for  your  com- 
fort, that  my  hope  is  full,  and  it  is  a  glorious  hope ; 
and  though  I  have  been  left  for  near  six  months  in 
widowhood,  in  the  time  of  great  affliction,  and  was 
called  to  take,  joyfully  or  otherwise,  the  spoiling  of 
almost  all  our  goods,  in  the  absence  of  my  husband, 
and  all  unlawfully,  just  for  the  gospel's  sake  (for  the 
judge  himself  declared  that  he  was  kept  in  prison 
for  no  other  reason  than  because  he  was  a  friend  to 
his  brother),  yet  I  do  not  feel  in  the  least  discour- 
aged ;  no,  though  my  sister  and  I  are  here  together 
in  a  strange  land,  we  have  been  enabled  to  rejoice, 
in  the  midst  of  our  privations  and  persecutions,  that 
we  were  counted  worthy  to  suffer  these  things,  so 
that  we  may,  with  the  ancient  saints  who  suffered 
in  like  manner,  inherit  the  same  glorious  reward.  If 


258  THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM. 

it  had  not  been  for  this  hope,  I  should  have  sunk 
before  this  ;  but,  blessed  be  the  God  and  rock  of 
my  salvation,  here  I  am,  and  am  perfectly  satisfied 
and  happy,  having  not  the  smallest  desire  to  go  one 
step  backward. 

"  Your  last  letter  to  Elder  Kimball  gave  us  great 
pleasure  ;  we  thank  you  for  your  expression  of  kind- 
ness, and  pray  God  to  bless  you  according  to  your 
desires  for  us. 

"The  more  I  see  of  the  dealings  of  our  Heavenly 
Father  with  us  as  a  people,  the  more  I  am  con- 
strained to  rejoice  that  I  was  ever  made  acquainted 
with  the  everlasting  covenant.  O  may  the  Lord 
keep  me  faithful  till  my  change  comes  !  O,  my  dear 
brother,  why  is  it  that  our  friends  should  stand  out 
against  the  truth,  and  look  on  those  that  would 
show  it  to  them  as  enemies  ?  The  work  here  is 
prospering  much  ;  several  men  of  respectability  and 
intelligence,  who  have  been  acquainted  with  all  our 
difficulties,  are  coming  into  the  work. 

"  My  husband  joins  me  in  love  to  you.  I  remain, 
my  dear  brother  and  sister,  your  affectionate  sister, 

"MARY  SMITH." 


CHAPTER  XXVI. 

THE    QUORUM    OF    THE     APOSTLES    GO    ON    MISSION    TO 

ENGLAND THEIR    LANDING    IN    GREAT    BRITAIN 

THEY    HOLD    A     CONFERENCE A    HOLIDAY     FESTI- 
VAL  MOTHER    MOON    AND    FAMILY SUMMARY  OF 

A  YEAR'S    LABORS  —  CROWNING   PERIOD    OF    THE 
BRITISH  MISSION. 

Scarcely  had  the  saints  made  their  exodus  from 
Missouri— while  many  of  them  were  still  domiciled 
in  tents  on  the  banks  of  the  Mississippi,  and  Nauvoo 
could  only  boast  of  a  few  rude  houses  to  prophesy 
the  glory  of  a  "  second  Zion" — ere  nine  of  the  quo- 
rum of  the  apostles  were  abroad,  working  their 
missionary  wonders  in  foreign  lands.  From  that 
period  to  the  present  (1877),  the  history  of  the 
Latter-day  Church,  with  its  emigrations,  has  quite 
one-half  belonged  to  the  European  mission,  which 
has  given  to  America  one  hundred  thousand  emi- 
grants. 

Early  in  the  year  1840  (January  nth),  apostles 
Wilford  Woodruff  and  John  Taylor,  with  Elder 
Theodore  Turley,  landed  on  the  shores  of  England. 
They  chose  their  several  fields  of  labor  and  soon 
were  actively  engaged  in  the  ministry. 

On  the  i  Qth  of  March  of  the  same  year  Brigham 


260  THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM. 

Young,  Heber  C.  Kimball,  George  A.  Smith,  Parley 
P.  Pratt,  Orson  Pratt,  and  Reuben  Hedlock  sailed 
from  New  York  on  board  the  Patrick  Henry.  A 
number  of  the  saints  came  down  to  the  wharf  to 
bid  them  farewell.  When  the  elders  got  into  the 
small-boat  to  go  out  to  the  ship,  the  saints  on  shore 
sang  "The  Gallant  Ship  is  Under  Way,"  etc.,  in 
which  song  the  elders  joined  until  their  voices  were 
separated  by  the  distance. 

Liverpool  was  reached  by  these  apostles  on  the 
6th  of  April.  It  was  the  anniversary  of  the  organi- 
zation of  the  Church,  just  ten  years  before.  The 
next  day  they  found  Elder  Taylor  and  John  Moon, 
with  about  thirty  saints  who  had  just  received  the 
work  in  that  place,  and  on  the  day  following  they 
went  to  Preston  by  railroad. 

In  Preston,  the  cradle  of  the  British  mission,  the 
apostles  were  met  by  a  multitude  of  saints,  who 
rejoiced  exceedingly  at  the  event  of  the  arrival  of 
the  twelve  in  that  land. 

Willard  Richards  immediately  hastened  to  Pres- 
ton and  gave  an  account  of  the  churches  in  the 
British  isles,  over  which  he  had  been  presiding 
during  the  interval  from  the  return  of  Heber  C. 
Kimball  and  Orson  Hyde  to  America.  The  presi- 
dent of  the  twelve  at  once  commenced  to  grapple 
with  the  work  in  foreign  lands,  convened  a  confer- 
ence, and  wrote  to  Wilford  Woodruff  to  attend. 

It  was  on  the  i4th  of  April,  1840,  that  the  first 
council  of  the  twelve  apostles,  in  a  foreign  land, 
was  held  at  Preston.  There  were  present  Brigham 
Young,  Heber  C.  Kimball,  Parley  P  Pratt,  Orson 
Pratt,  John  Taylor,  Wilford  Woodruff,  and  George 


THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM.  26l 

A.  Smith.  These  proceeded  to  ordain  Willard 
Richards  to  their  quorum,  and  then  Brigham  Young 
was  chosen,  by  a  unanimous  vote,  the  standing 
president  of  the  twelve. 

Then  followed,  during  the  next  two  days,  "  A 
"General  Conference  of  the  Church  of  Jesus  Christ 
"  of  Latter-day  Saints,"  held  in  the  Temperance 
Hall  at  Preston,  with  Heber  C.  Kimball  presiding, 
and  William  Clayton  clerk.  There  were  repre- 
sented at  this  time,  one  thousand  six  hundred  and 
seventy-one  members,  thirty-four  elders,  fifty-two 
priests,  thirty-eight  teachers,  and  eight  deacons. 

The  conference  over,  the  apostles  kept  the  old 
Christian  holiday  of  Good  Friday,  to  regale  their 
spirits  after  their  long  journey,  which  had  so  quickly 
followed  the  many  vicissitudes  of  persecution  in 
their  native  land,  and  before  separating  again  on 
their  arduous  mission. 

The  place  chosen  to  spend  their  holiday  was  the 
village  of  Penwortham,  two  miles  from  Preston. 
That  day  Mother  Moon  made  a  feast  for  the  apos- 
tles at  her  house.  From  her  treasury  of  "  fat  things" 
she  brought  forth  a  bottle  of  wine  which  she  had 
kept  for  forty  years.  This  the  elders  blessed  and 
then  partook  of  it.  That  bottle  of  wine  is  spoken 
of  to  this  day.  The  family  of  Mother  Moon  has 
also  a  history.  Here  is  their  page,  from  Heber's 
journal  of  his  first  mission  abroad : 

"  Having  an  appointment  to  preach  in  the  village 
"of  Wrightington,  while  on  the  way  I  stopped  at 
"the  house  of  Brother  Francis  Moon,  when  I  was 
"  informed  that  the  family  of  Matthias  Moon  had 
"sent  a  request 'by  him  for  me  to  visit  them,  that 


262  THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM. 

"they  might  haveAe  privilege  of  conversing  with 
"  me  on  the  subject  of  the  gospel.  Accordingly 
"  Brother  Amos  Fielding  and  I  paid  them  a  visit 
"that  evening.  We  were  very  kindly  received  by 
"  the  family,  and  had  considerable  conversation  on 
"the  subject  of  my  mission  to  England,  and  the 
"great  work  of  the  Lord  in  the  last  days.  They 
"  listened  with  attention  to  my  statements,  but  at 
"the  same  time  they  appeared  to  be  prejudiced 
"  against  them.  We  remained  in  conversation  until 
"  a  late  hour,  and  then  returned  home.  On  our  way 
"  Brother  Fielding  observed  that  he  thought  our 
"  visit  had  been  in  vain,  as  the  family  seemed  to  have 
"  considerable  prejudice.  I  answered,  be  not  faith- 
"  less  but  believing ;  we  shall  yet  see  great  effects 
"  from  this  visit,  for  I  know  that  some  of  the  family 
"  have  received  the  testimony,  and  will  shortly 
"  manifest  the  same ;  at  which  remark  he  seemed 
"  surprised. 

"  The  next  morning  I  continued  my  journey  to 
"  Wrightington  and  Hunter's  Hill.  After  spending 
"  two  or  three  days  in  that  vicinity,  preaching,  I  bap- 
"tized  seven  of  the  family  of  Benson,  and  others, 
"  and  organized  a  branch. 

"  I  returned  by  the  way  of  Brother  Fielding's,  with 
"whom  I  again  tarried  for  the  night.  The  next 
"  morning  I  started  for  Preston,  but  when  I  got 
"  opposite  the  lane  leading  to  Mr.  Moon's,  I  was 
"forcibly  led  by  the  spirit  of  the  Lord  to  call  and 
"  see  them  again.  I  therefore  directed  my  steps  to 
"  the  house.  On  my  arrival  I  knocked  at  the  door. 
"Mrs.  Moon  exclaimed:  'Come  in!  come  in!  You 
"  are  welcome  here !  I  and  the  lasses  (meaning  her 


THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM.  263 

"  daughters)  have  just  been  calling  on  the  Lord,  and 
"praying  that  he  would  send  you  this  way/  She 
"  then  informed  me  of  her  state  of  mind  since  I  was 
"there,  and  said  she  at  first  rejected  my  testimony, 
"and  endeavored  to  think  lightly  on  the  things  I 
"  had  advanced,  but  on  trying  to  pray,  the  heavens 
"  seemed  like  brass  over  her  head,  and  it  was  like 
"  iron  under  her  feet.  She  did  not  know  what  was 
"  the  matter,  saying,  '  Certainly  the  man  has  not  be- 
"  witched  me,  has  he  ? '  And  upon  inquiring  she 
"  found  it  was  the  same  with  the  lasses.  They  then 
"  began  to  reflect  on  the  things  I  told  them,  and 
"thinking  it  possible  that  I  had  told  them  the  truth, 
"  they  resolved  to  lay  the  case  before  the  Lord,  and 
"beseech  him  to  give  them  a  testimony  concerning 
"  the  things  I  had  testified  of.  She  then  observed 
"  that  as  soon  as  they  did  so  light  broke  in  upon 
"  their  minds ;  they  were  convinced  that  I  was  a 
"  messenger  of  salvation ;  that  it  was  the  work  of 
"  the  Lord,  and  they  had  resolved  to  obey  the  gos- 
"  pel.  That  evening  I  baptized  Mr.  Moon  and  his 
"  wife,  and  four  of  his  daughters.  *  *  *  I  visited 
"  Mr.  Moon  again,  and  baptized  the  remainder  of 
"  his  family,  consisting  of  thirteen  souls,  the  youngest 
"  of  whom  was  over  twenty  years  of  age.  They 
"received  the  gospel  as  little  children,  and  rejoiced 
"  exceedingly  in  its  blessings.  The  sons  were  very 
"good  musicians  and  the  daughters  excellent  sing- 
"ers.  When  they  united  their  instruments  and 
"voices  in  the  songs  of  Zion  the  effect  was  truly 
"transporting.  Before  I  left  England  there  were 
"  about  thirty  of  that  family  and  connections  bap- 
"  tized,  five  of  whom — Hugh,  John,  Francis,  William 


264  THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM. 

"  and  Thomas  Moon — were  ordained  to  be  fellow- 
"  laborers  with  us  in  the  vineyard,  and  I  left  them 
"  rejoicing  in  the  truths  they  had  embraced." 

After  their  short  rest  in  Preston,  refreshed  and 
inspired  by  the  communion  of  so  many  of  their 
quorum,  these  apostles  rose  like  giants  to  their 
work.  Brigham  Young  and  Willard  Richards  went 
with  Wilford  Woodruff  into  Herefordshire,  where 
Brigham  obtained  money  to  publish  the  Book  of 
Mormon;  Heber  C.  Kimball  visited  the  disciples 
whom  he  had  brought  into  the  Church  during  his 
first  mission ;  Orson  Pratt  went  into  Scotland, 
George  A.  Smith  went  into  Staffordshire,  John 
Taylor  continued  his  labors  at  Liverpool,  where  he 
raised  up  a  conference,  and  Parley  P.  Pratt  repaired 
to  Manchester  to  publish  the  Millennial  Star. 

A  year  passed.  Here  is  the  summary  of  its  his- 
tory, from  Brigham  Young's  journal : 

"  It  was  with  a  heart  full  of  thanksgiving  and 
"gratitude  to  God,  my  Heavenly  Father,  that  I 
"  reflected  upon  his  dealings  with  me  and  my  breth- 
"  ren  of  the  twelve  during  the  past  year  of  my  life, 
"which  was  spent  in  England.  It  truly  seems  a 
"  miracle  to  look  upon  the  contrast  between  our 
"landing  and  departing  from  Liverpool.  We  landed 
"in  the  spring  of  1840,  as  strangers  in  a  strange 
"  land,  and  penniless,  but  through  the  mercy  of  God 
"  we  have  gained  many  friends,  established  churches 
"  in  almost  every  noted  town  and  city  of  Great 
"  Britain,  baptized  between  seven  and  eight  thou- 
"  sand  souls,  printed  five  thousand  Books  of  Mor- 
"mon,  three  thousand  hymn-books,  two  thousand 
"  five  hundred  volumes  of  the  Millennial  Star,  and 


THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM.  265 

"  fifty  thousand  tracts ;  emigrated  to  Zion  one  thou- 
"  sand  souls,  establishing  a  permanent  shipping 
"  agency,  which  will  be  a  great  blessing  to  the  saints, 
"  and  have  left  sown  in  the  hearts  of  many  thousands 
"  the  seed  of  eternal  life,  which  shall  bring  forth 
"  fruit  to  the  honor  and  glory  of  God ;  and  yet  we 
"have  lacked  nothing  to  eat,  drink  or  wear;  in  all 
"  these  things  I  acknowledge  the  hand  of  God." 

But  even  this  was  eclipsed  by  the  results  of  the 
next  ten  years.  Besides  the  thousands  who  had  emi- 
grated, the  British  mission,  at  the  culmination  of  this 
third  period,  numbered  nearly  forty  thousand  souls. 
The  Millennial  Star  reached  a  weekly  circulation  of 
twenty-two  thousand  ;  and  there  were  half  a  million 
of  Orson  Pratt's  tracts  in  circulation  throughout  the 
land.  This  crowning  period  was  during  the  presiden- 
cies of  Orson  Spencer,  Orson  Pratt,  and  Franklin 
and  Samuel  Richards. 

Too  vast  this  missionary  work  abroad,  and  too 
crowded  its  events,  for  us  to  follow  the  historic 
details ;  but  we  shall,  however,  frequently  hereafter 
meet  representative  women  from  Europe,  and  read 
in  their  sketches  many  episodes  of  the  saints  in 
foreign  lands. 


CHAPTER  XXVII. 

THE    SISTERS    AS    MISSIONARIES EVANGELICAL    DIPLO- 
MACY  WITHOUT     PURSE     OR     SCRIP PICTURE     OF 

THE  NATIVE  ELDERS A  SPECIMEN    MEETING THE 

SECRET     OF     SUCCESS MORMONISM     A     SPIRITUAL 

GOSPEL THE    SISTERS    AS    TRACT    DISTRIBUTERS 

WOMAN    A    POTENT    EVANGELIST. 

And  what  the  part  of  the  sisterhood  in  this  great 
work  outlined  in  foreign  lands  ? 

The  sisters  were  side  by  side  with  the  most  potent 
missionaries  the  Latter-day  Church  found.  They 
made  nearly  as  many  converts  to  Mormonism  as  the 
elders.  They  were,  often  times,  the  direct  instru- 
ments which  brought  disciples  into  the  Church. 
The  elders  riveted  the  anchor  of  faith  by  good  gos- 
pel logic,  and  their  eloquent  preachers  enchanted 
the  half-inspired  mind  with  well-described  millennial 
views,  but  the  sisters,  as  a  rule,  by  the  nicest  evan- 
gelical diplomacy  brought  the  results  about.  They 
agitated  the  very  atmosphere  with  their  magical 
faith  in  the  new  dispensation  ;  they  breathed  the 
spirit  of  their  own  beautiful  enthusiasm  into  their 
neighborhoods ;  they  met  the  first  brunt  of  per- 
secution and  conquered  it  by  their  zeal;  they 
transformed  unbelief  into  belief  by  their  personal 


THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM.  267 

testimonies,  which  aroused  curiosity,  or  made  their 
relatives  and  neighbors  sleepless  with  active  thoughts 
of  the  new,  and  inspired  doubts  of  the  old ;  they 
enticed  the  people  to  hear  their  elders  preach,  and 
did  more  to  disturb  the  peace  of  the  town  than 
could  have  done  the  town-crier;  they  crowded  their 
halls  with  an  audience  when  without  their  sisterly 
devising  those  halls  had  remained  often  empty  and 
cold. 

In  the  British  mission — in  England,  Scotland  and 
Wales — the  sisters  had  much  better  missionary 
opportunities  than  in  America.  The  vast  extent 
of  country  over  which  the  American  people  were 
sparsely  scattered,  forty  to  fifty  years  ago,  and  the 
almost  immediate  gatherings  of  the  disciples  to  a 
centre  place,  or  a  local  Zion,  necessarily  confined 
the  missionary  movement  at  home  nearly  exclu- 
sively to  the  apostles  and  their  aids,  the  "  Seventies ;" 
and  thus  as  soon  as  the  disciples  "  gathered  out  of 
"  Babylon, "  American  society  lost  even  the  little 
leaven  which  the  elders  had  inspired  in  its  midst. 

But  in  England,  Scotland  and  Wales,  and  at  a 
later  period  in  Scandinavia,  it  was  very  different. 
Not  merely  one  local  Zion  and  a  score  of  branches 
scattered  over  a  score  of  States,  but  in  the  British 
mission  at  its  zenith  of  progress  there  were  over 
five  hundred  branches,  fifty  conferences,  and  about 
a  dozen  pastorates — the  latter  very  like  Mormon 
provinces  or  bishoprics.  There  the  sisters  had 
grand  missionary  opportunities.  From  village  to 
town,  and  from  town  to  city,  they  helped  the  elders 
push  their  work  until  this  vast  church  superstruc- 
ture was  reared.  With  such  a  leaven  as  the  Mor- 


268  THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM. 

mon  sisterhood  in  Great  Britain,  converts  were 
made  so  fast  that  it  was  nearly  twenty  years  before 
even  the  immense  yearly  emigration  of  the  saints 
to  America  began  visibly  to  tell  in  weakening  mis- 
sionary operations  in  that  prolific  land. 

It  has  often  been  a  matter  of  wonder  how  it 
happened  that  Mormonism  was  such  a  mighty  pros- 
elyting power  in  England  compared  with  what  it 
had  been  in  America.  The  two  views  presented 
suggest  the  exact  reason ;  and  in  addition  to  the 
gathering  genius  of  the  Mormons,  the  very  "  tidal 
wave  "  of  the  country  has  swept  migrating  peoples 
westward.  Three  hundred  Mormon  cities  have 
sprung  up  on  the  Pacific  slope,  just  as  five  hundred 
branches  did  in  Great  Britain,  which  has  required 
all  the  gathering  energies  of  the  Church  for  over 
a  quarter  of  a  century  to  deplete  her  of  these 
proselyting  saints.  It  was  Great  Britain  that  gave 
to  the  sisters  their  grand  missionary  opportuni- 
ties. 

Here  another  view  of  the  sisters  presents  itself. 
Much  of  the  success  of  "  Mormonism "  in  foreign 
lands  is  due  to  the  fact  that  the  elders,  like  Christ 
and  his  apostles  of  old,  went  about  preaching  the 
gospel  "  without  purse  or  scrip." 

This  apostolic  custom  captivated  woman  at  once. 
Her  sympathies  were  charmed.  She  admired  the 
heroic  devotion  and  self-abnegation  of  such  minis- 
ters of  Christ.  Their  examples  directly  appealed  to 
her,  so  like  were  they  to  her  own  faith.  The  disinter- 
ested aims  and  efforts  of  these  men  for  human  good 
so  accorded  with  her  own  divine  aspirations,  that 
she  leapt  with  a  glorious  enthusiasm  to  their  side. 


THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM.  269 

For  once  woman  had  found  the  opportunity  to 
exercise  her  own  methods  of  apostleship. 

She  saw  these  elders  upon  the  altar  of  sacrifice 
for  a  Christian  cause.  Out  in  the  wilderness  of 
society  were  they,  during  the  best  years  of  youth, 
preaching  without  purse  or  scrip,  trusting  in  Provi- 
dence for  their  daily  bread  as  truly  as  do  the  spar- 
rows whom  the  Great  Father  feeds.  Wandering 
through  the  world  were  these  devoted  men,  often 
with  blood  in  their  well-worn  shoes,  preaching  the 
glad  tidings  of  a  new  dispensation  which  the  angels 
had  opened  to  bring  immortality  to  mortals,  and 
establish  the  order  of  heaven  on  earth.  Such  were 
the  examples  which  the  elders  presented  in  their 
ministry,  and  such  examples  woman  loved. 

Though  they  bore  the  title  of  elders,  these  mis- 
sionaries, especially  the  native  ones,  were  generally 
young  men  from  the  age  of  twenty  to  thirty. 
Scarcely  were  they  converted  ere  they  were  sent 
out  to  mission  the  land.  The  prophet  Joseph  had 
well  cogitated  on  the  saying  of  Christ,  "  The  harvest 
is  great  but  the  laborers  are  few ;"  and  it  was  at 
once  a  bold  and  happy  stroke  of  genius  on  his  part 
to  leave  the  beaten  track  of  choosing  only  matured 
and  experienced  divines,  calling  instead  a  multitude 
of  youths  and  striplings  to  aid  him  in  evangelizing 
the  world.  This  was  much  like  Mohammed's  choos- 
ing of  the  youthful  enthusiast  Ali  to  be  his  lieuten- 
ant in  his  religious  empire-founding  mission.  And 
so  at  one  time  might  have  been  found  in  Europe 
nearly  a  thousand  of  these  young  men,  out  in  the 
ministry,  bearing  the  title  of  elders.  Strange  ex- 
ample !  Elders  at  twenty ;  veterans  at  twenty-five, 


270  THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM. 

who  had  built  up  their  conferences  !  This  pleased 
woman.  It  was  unique.  The  example  touched  her 
heart  and  stimulated  her  faith  through  her  very 
sympathy  for  and  admiration  of  the  heroic. 

Into  the  villages  of  England,  Scotland  and  Wales 
these  youths  made  their  way,  with  hymn-book  and 
Bible  in  hand,  but  with  no  ministerial  recommenda- 
tion except  a  forceful,  innovative  intellectuality,  and 
souls  inspired  with  the  glories  of  a  new  and  con- 
quering faith. 

Alone,  at  eventide,  they  would  uncover  their 
heads,  on  some  green  bit  of  common,  or,  if  on  the 
Sabbath  day,  would  daringly  near  the  old  village 
church,  which  well  might  tremble  at  such  sacrilege, 
as  did  they  literally  in  those  bold  missionary  at- 
tempts, that  never  had  been  made  but  for  youth's 
rich  unconsciousness  of  inability,  Then  would  ring 
out  the  hymn  of  the  Latter-day  Saints : 

"  Go,  ye  messengers  of  glory, 

Run,  ye  legates  of  the  skies, 
Go  and  tell  the  pleasing  story, 
That  a  glorious  angel  flies ; 

Great  and  mighty, 
With  a  message  from  on  high  !" 

Or  perchance  it  would  be  this  instead : 

"  The  morning  breaks,  the  shadows  flee; 

Lo,  Zion's  standard  is  unfurled; 
The  dawning  of  a  brighter  day 
Majestic  rises  on  the  world." 

And  many  a  village  has  been  startled  with  this 
tremendous  proclamation,  from  the  lips  of  young 
men: 

"  Jehovah  speaks  !     Let  Earth  give  ear! 
And  gentile  nations  turn  and  live !  " 


THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM.  271 

First  the  woman  would  come  out  to  listen,  on  the 
threshold  of  her  cottage,  after  supper;  then  she 
would  draw  near,  and  wonder  about  this  boy- 
preacher — to  her  eyes  so  much  like  her  own  boy, 
who,  perhaps,  is  playing  at  some  evening  game  with 
his  companions,  near  by.  Next  comes  her  husband, 
and  after  awhile  the  boys  themselves  leave  their 
games,  and  with  their  sisters,  gather  to  listen.  And 
so  are  also  gathered  other  family  groups  of  the  vil- 
lage to  swell  the  impromptu  congregation.  This  is  a 
truthful  picture,  for  the  author  is  describing  a  literal 
experience. 

Now  comes  the  supplemental  story  of  this  boy- 
elder,  that  he  is  out  in  the  world  preaching  the  gos- 
pel without  purse  or  scrip,  that  he  has  eaten  nothing 
that  day  since  breakfast,  that  he  has  journeyed  miles 
and  is  tired  out,  and  that  he  has  no  place  in  which 
to  lay  his  head  that  night. 

The  mother  and  her  daughters  whisper.  They 
have  conceived  an  idea  that  will  exactly  fit  that  poor 
boy's  case.  Father  is  approached.  At  first  he  will 
not  listen  to  the  proposition  ;  but  at  last  he  yields. 
What  else  could  he  do  ?  When  did  woman  fail  if 
her  sympathies  were  enlisted  ?  To  their  home  the 
boy-missionary  is  taken.  A  supper  is  gleaned  from 
the  humble  peasant's  leavings.  Water  is  furnished 
to  bathe  the  sore  and  blood-stained  feet.  The 
woman  is  half  converted  by  the  sight  of  so  much 
youthful  heroism.  Mother  and  daughters  dream  of 
the  boy-missionary  that  night. 

'Tisa  simple  story;  but  from  that  house  Mor- 
monism  is  destined  to  spread  through  all  the  village, 
until  the  aged  clergyman,  educated  at  college,  in  his 


272  THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM. 

pulpit  which  he  has  occupied  for  a  quarter  of  a  cen- 
tury, fears  that  boy  as  much  as  a  second  Goliah 
might  have  feared  the  stripling  David. 

And  thus  Mormonism  ran  from  village  to  town, 
and  from  town  to  city ;  carried,  of  course,  to  the 
larger  places  by  the  "  veterans ;"  but  in  all  cases 
very  similar.  How  much  the  sisters — mothers  and 
daughters — had  to  do  in  this  work  may  be  seen  at 
a  glance. 

But  the  most  salient  view  to  be  taken  of  Mor- 
monism abroad  is,  as  the  great  spiritual  movement 
of  the  age.  The  reader  may  be  assured  that  it  was 
the  beautiful  themes  of  a  new  dispensation — themes 
such  as  angels  might  have  accompanied  with  their 
hosannas — that  charmed  disciples  into  the  Mormon 
Church.  Spiritual  themes  and  the  gifts  of  the  Holy 
Ghost  were  what  converted  the  tens  of  thousands 
in  Great  Britain ;  not  a  cold  materialism,  much 
less  a  sensual  gospel.  Even  to  the  simplest,  who 
scarcely  knew  the  meaning  of  idealities,  the  spiritual 
and  the  ideal  of  Mormonism  were  its  principal 
charms.  Indeed,  it  is  to  the  fact  that  Mormonism 
was,  in  its  missionary  history,  such  a  unique  and 
extraordinary  spiritual,  and  yet  matter-of-fact,  move- 
ment, that  it  owes  its  principal  and  rare  successes. 

In  America,  the  splendid  ambitions  of  empire- 
founding,  the  worldly  opportunities  presented  by  a 
migrating  people  and  a  growing  commonwealth, 
sometimes  charmed  the  dominating  mind ;  but  in  the 
foreign  missions,  especially  in  Great  Britain,  where 
it  received  its  highest  intellectual  interpretation 
from  elders  who  championed  it  on  the  public  plat- 
form against  the  best  orthodox  disputants  in  the 


THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM.  273 

land,  it  was  Mormon  ism  as  a  great  spiritual  work 
that  captivated  most,  and  above  all  it  was  this  aspect 
of  it  that  most  captivated  the  sisterhood.  In  this 
view,  and  in  this  view  only,  can  the  explanation  be 
found  of  how  it  took  such  a  deep  and  lasting  hold 
upon  the  female  portion  of  society. 

In  the  early  rise  of  the  Church  abroad  the  disci- 
ples knew  nothing  of  the  society-founding  successes 
of  Brigham  Young,  which  to-day  make  Mormonism 
quite  potent  in  America  and  a  periodical  sensation 
to  the  American  Congress.  Nothing  of  this ;  but 
much  of  the  divine,  much  of  the  spiritual,  much  of 
the  angels'  coming  to  reign  with  them  in  a  millen- 
nium, with  Christ  on  earth. 

Such  was  Mormonism  abroad.  Such  has  it  ever 
been,  with  the  sisters,  at  home.  Its  success  in 
making  converts  among  women,  both  old  and  young, 
has  no  parallel  in  the  history  of  churches.  Its  all- 
potent  influence  on  the  heart  and  brain  of  woman 
was  miraculous.  She  received  it  in  as  great  faith  as 
was  that  of  the  woman  who  laid  hold  of  the  skirt 
of  Christ's  garment  and  was  healed.  She  exulted 
in  its  unspeakably  beautiful  themes ;  she  reveled  in 
its  angelic  experiences ;  she  multiplied  its  disciples. 

In  some  respects  Mormonism,  in  its  history  and 
manifestations  abroad,  compares  strikingly  with  the 
more  recent  history  of  spiritualism  in  America. 
Their  geniuses  are  undoubtedly  very  different,  but 
their  potency  over  society  has  been  similar.  The 
one  was  apostolic  and  Hebraic,  with  a  God  as  the 
source  of  its  inspirations,  a  priesthood  linking  the 
heavens  and  the  earth  as  its  controlling  powers,  and 
another  Catholic  or  Universal  Church  as  the  aim  of 

18 


THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM. 

its  ministry.  The  other  has  pulled  down  what  it 
has  dared  to  call  the  idols  of  Deity,  makes  war  on 
priesthood,  and  on  the  Hebrew  Jehovah,  whom  the 
Mormons  serve,  and  disintegrates  all  churches.  Yet 
the  themes  of  both  have  been  themes  of  the  angels' 
coming  to  visit  the  earth  again ;  "  new  revelations 
to  suit  the  age ;"  another  great  spiritual  dispensation 
for  the  world. 

Mormonism  abroad,  then,  was  supremely  an  apos- 
tolic spiritual  work.  Paul's  famous  epistle  to  the 
Corinthians,  upon  spiritual  gifts,  presents  an  exact 
view  of  what  Mormonism  has  been;  and  as  it  was 
a  chapter  often  read  to  the  saints — the  subject  of  a 
thousand  sermons — it  may  here  be  fitly  quoted  to 
illustrate  the  view.  The  apostle  says : 

"  Now  concerning  spiritual  gifts,  brethren,  I  would 
not  have  you  ignorant. 

"  Now  there  are  diversities  of  gifts,  but  the  same 
spirit. 

"  And  there  are  differences  of  administration,  but 
the  same  Lord. 

"  And  there  are  diversities  of  operations,  but  it  is 
the  same  God  which  worketh  all 'in  all. 

"  But  the  manifestation  of  the  spirit  is  given  to 
every  man  to  profit  withal. 

"  For  to  one  is  given  by  the  spirit  the  word  of 
wisdom ;  to  another  the  word  of  knowledge  by  the 
same  spirit ; 

"  To  another  faith  by  the  same  spirit ;  to  another 
the  gifts  of  healing  by  the  same  spirit ; 

"  To  another  the  working  of  miracles;  to  another 
prophesy;  to  another  discerning  of  spirits;  to 
another  divers  kinds  of  tongues;  to  another  the 
interpretation  of  tongues ; 

"  But  all  these  worketh  that  one  and  the  self-same 
spirit,  dividing  to  every  man  severally  as  he  will 


THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM.  275 

"  For  as  the  body  is  one,  and  hath  many  members, 
and  all  the  members  of  that  one  body,  being  many, 
are  one  body :  so  also  is  Christ. 

"  For  by  one  spirit  are  we  all  baptized  into  one 
body,  whether  we  be  Jews  or  Gentiles,  whether  we 
be  bond  or  free ;  and  have  been  all  made  to  drink 
into  one  spirit. 

"  And  God  hath  set  some  in  the  church,  first, 
apostles  ;  secondarily,  prophets ;  thirdly,  teachers ; 
after  that  miracles ;  then  gifts  of  healings,  helps, 
governments,  diversities  of  tongues. 

"  Are  all  apostles  ?  Are  all  prophets  ?  Are  all 
teachers  ?  Are  all  workers  of  miracles  ? 

"  Have  all  the  gifts  of  healing?  Do  all  speak 
with  tongues  ?  Do  all  interpret  ? 

"  But  covet  earnestly  the  best  gifts  ;  and  yet  shew 
I  unto  you  a  more  excellent  way." 

In  another  chapter  of  Paul's  epistle  to  the  Co- 
rinthians, he  presents  another  famous  spiritual  view: 

"  How  is  it,  then,  brethren?  When  ye  come  to- 
gether, every  one  of  you  hath  a  psalm,  hath  a  doc- 
trine hath  a  tongue,  hath  a  revelation,  hath  an  inter- 
pretation. Let  all  things  be  done  unto  edifying. 

"  If  any  man  speak  in  an  unknown  tongue,  let 
it  be  by  two,  or  at  the  mqst  by  three,  and  that  by 
course;  and  let  one  interpret. 

"  But  if  there  be  no  interpreter,  let  him  keep 
silence  in  the  church ;  and  let  him  speak  to  himself, 
and  to  God. 

"  Let  the  prophets  speak  two  or  three,  and  let 
the  other  judge. 

"If  anything  be  revealed  to  another  that  sitteth 
by,  let  the  first  hold  his  peace. 

"  For  ye  may  all  prophesy  one  by  one,  that  all 
may  learn,  and  all  may  be  comforted. 

"  And  the  spirits  of  the  prophets  are  subject  to 
the  prophets. 


THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM. 

"  For  God  is  not  the  author  of  confusion,  but  of 
peace,  as  in  all  churches  of  the  saints." 

This  is  a  very  exact  picture  of  the  Latter-day 
Saints'  testimony  meetings.  It  is  indeed  a  striking 
illustration  of  the  gospel  and  its  manifestations,  as 
familiar  to  them  as  their  own  faces. 

It  was  this  spiritual  gospel  that  the  sisters  pro- 
mulgated in  Great  Britain,  and  it  was  this  that  made 
the  tens  of  thousands  of  converts.  Had  not  Mor- 
monism  been  of  this  kind,  and  had  not  such  been 
its  manifestations,  woman  never  would  have  received 
it  and  become  its  apostle ;  nor  would  it  have  made 
such  a  stir  in  the  world. 

The  sisters  also  missioned  the  land  by  the  distri- 
bution of  tracts.  This  made  them  to  be  preachers, 
in  a  way ;  and  they  carried  their  sermons  to  the 
homes  of  rich  and  poor,  to  be  read  at  the  fireside 
by  those  who,  but  for  this,  never  would  have  gone 
to  hear  an  elder  preach. 

In  all  the  towns  and  cities  of  her  Majesty's  king- 
dom the  saints  organized  tract  societies.  In  London, 
where  many  branches  flourished,  these  tract  organi- 
zations were  numerous ;  the  same  was  measurably 
the  case  with  Birmingham,  Manchester,  Liverpool, 
Sheffield,  and  the  principal  cities  of  Scotland  and 
Wales.  These  tract  distributers  were  numbered  by 
the  thousand.  They  held  their  monthly  meetings, 
mapped  out  their  districts  and  brought  in  their 
regular  reports.  At  one  time,  as  before  stated,  they 
had  in  circulation  half  a  million  of  Orson  Pratt's 
tracts.  It  is  scarcely  necessary  to  say  that  the  sis- 
ters principally  did  this  work,  to  which  should  be 
added  that  they  were  assisted  by  the  young  men  of 


THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM.  2/7 

each  branch.  In  short,  the  sisters,  in  the  work 
abroad,  were  a  great  missionary  power. 

And  here  it  may  be  observed  that  all  evangelical 
history  proves  that  woman  is  ever  the  most  potent 
evangelist.  She  permeates  society  with  the  influ- 
ence of  her  church,  makes  converts  in  the  homes  of 
her  neighbors,  where  her  pastor  could  never  reach 
without  her  help,  and  inspires  the  very  faith  by 
which  miracles  are  wrought 

Woman  has  many  striking  examples  of  her  influ- 
ence and  acts  in  the  history  of  religious  empire- 
founding.  Miriam  charmed  the  congregation  of 
Israel  with  her  songs,  and  strengthened  her  brother 
Moses'  power  by  her  prophesies ;  Esther  rendered 
the  captivity  of  her  people  lighter  by  her  mediation ; 
Judith  delivered  her  nation  from  the  Assyrian  cap- 
tain ;  the  two  Marys  and  Martha  seemed  to  have 
understood  Jesus  better  than  did  his  apostles  even, 
and  they  saw  first  their  risen  Lord ;  St.  Helena  did 
much  to  make  her  son,  Constantine,  the  imperial 
champion  of  Christianity  ;  perchance  had  there  been 
no  Cadijah  the  world  would  never  have  known  a 
Mohammed ;  the  Catholic  Church  has  been  more 
potent  through  the  sisters  of  its  various  orders ; 
and  the  examples  which  the  Mormon  sisterhood 
have  given  are  almost  as  striking  as  those  of  the 
sisters  of  that  church. 

These  are  some  of  the  views  which  may  be  pre- 
sented of  the  sisters  in  their  great  missionary  work 
abroad,  and  they  are  also  fit  illustrations  of  the 
spiritual  movement,  which  they  represent,  in  the  age. 


CHAPTER  XXVIII. 

MORMONISM    AND  THE    QUEEN   OF    ENGLAND PRESEN- 
TATION OF    THE  BOOK  OF    MORMON   TO  THE   QUEEN 

AND    PRINCE    ALBERT ELIZA    R.    SNOW'S    POEM    ON 

THAT  EVENT "  ZION's  NURSING  MOTHER" HEBER 

C    KIMBALL    BLESSES    VICTORIA. 

Here  an  interesting  story  is  to  be  told  of  Mor- 
monism  and  the  Queen  of  England. 

It  will  be  remembered  that  Victoria  ascended  the 
throne  of  Great  Britain  just  three  days  before  Heber 
C.  Kimball,  Orson  Hyde  and  Willard  Richards  ar- 
rived in  her  realm  to  preach  the  gospel  of  Messiah's 
coming. 

There  was  something  poetic  in  this.  Victoria 
became  connected  in  some  way  with  the  new  dis- 
pensation. She  alone  of  all  the  monarchs  of  the 
earth  was  prophetically  cast  in  its  dramatis  persona. 
Poetry  and  prophesy  both  were  pregnant  with  much 
of  subject  and  promise  that  concerned  Victoria  of 
England.  She  may  not  be  aware  of  it,  but  there  is 
quite  a  romance  of  the  British  Queen  in  Mormon 
history,  to  which  the  presentation  of  the  Book  of 
Mormon  to  herself  and  the  late  Prince  consort  gives 
pictorial  display. 

Before  leaving  England,  President  Brigham  Young, 


THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM* 


279 


who  had  succeeded  in  raising  means  to  publish  the 
Book  of  Mormon,  gave  directions  for  copies  to  be 
specially  prepared  and  richly  bound  for  presentation 
to  her  Majesty  and  the  Prince  consort.  The  honor 
of  this  devolved  on  Lorenzo  Snow,  who  was  at  that 
period  President  of  the  London  Conference.  The 
presentation  was  made  in  1842,  through  the  polite- 
ness of  Sir  Henry  Wheatley ;  and  it  is  said  her 
Majesty  condescended  to  be  pleased,  with  the  gift. 
Whether  she  ever  read  the  Book  of  Mormon  is  not 
known,  although,  if  the  presentation  has  not  alto- 
gether faded  from  her  memory,  Mormonism  has 
been  since  that  date  sensational  enough  to  provoke 
even  a  monarch  to  read  the  book,  if  for  nothing 
better  than  curiosity ;  so,  not  unlikely  Queen  Vic- 
toria has  read  some  portions  at  least  of  the  Book 
of  Mormpn.  The  unique  circumstance  called  forth 
from  the  pen  of  Eliza  R.  Snow  the  following  poem, 
entitled  "  Queen  Victoria  :" 

"  Of  all  the  monarchs  of  the  earth 
That  wear  the  robes  of  royalty, 
She  has  inherited  by  birth 

The  broadest  wreath  of  majesty. 

From  her  wide  territorial  wing 

The  sun  does  not  withdraw  its  light, 
While  earth's  diurnal  motions  bring 

To  other  nations  day  and  night. 
i  ,  . 

All  earthly  thrones  are  tott'ring  things, 

Where  lights  and  shadows  intervene  j 
And  regal  honor  often  brings 

The  scaffold  or  the  guillotine. 

But  still  her  sceptre  is  approved — 

All  nations  deck  the  wreath  she  wears; 
Yet,  like  the  youth  whom  Jesus  loved, 

One  thing  is  lacking  even  there. 


23O  THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM. 

But  lo !  a  prize  possessing  more 

Of  worth  than  gems  with  honor  rife — 
A  herald  of  salvation  bore 

To  her  the  words  of  endless  life. 

That  gift,  however  fools  deride, 

Is  worthy  of  her  royal  care ; 
She'd  better  lay  her  crown  aside 

Than  spurn  the  light  reflected  there, 

O  would  she  now  her  influence  lend — 

The  influence  of  royalty, 
Messiah's  kingdom  to  extend, 

And  Zion's  '  nursing  Mother '  be ; 

She,  with  the  glory  of  her  name 

Inscribed  on  Zion's  lofty  spire, 
Would  win  a  wreath  of  endless  fame, 

To  last  when  other  wreaths  expire. 

Though  over  millions  called  to  reign — 

Herself  a  powerful  nation's  boast, 
'  Twould  be  her  everlasting  gain 

To  serve  the  King,  the  Lord  of  Hosts. 

For  there  are  crowns  and  thrones  on  high, 

And  kingdoms  there  to  be  conferred ; 
There  honors  wait  that  never  die, 

There  fame's  immortal  trump  is  heard. 

Truth  speaks — it  is  Jehovah's  word ; 

Let  kings  and  queens  and  princes  hear : 
In  distant  isles  the  sound  is  heard — 

Ye  heavens,  rejoice;  O  earth,  give  ear. 

The  time,  the  time  is  now  at  hand 

To  give  a  glorious  period  birth — 
The  Son  of  God  will  take  command, 

And  rule  the  nations  of  the  earth." 

It  will  be  seen  that  our  Hebraic  poetess  has  sug- 
gested for  Victoria  of  England  the  title  of  "  Zion's 
Nursing  Mother."  The  reference  is  to  Isaiah's  glo- 
rious song  of  Zion.  He,  according  to  the  univer- 
sally accepted  interpretation,  foresaw  the  rise  of 
Messiah's  kingdom  on  the  earth  in  the  last  days. 


THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM.  281 

"  And  they  shall  call  thee  the  City  of  the  Lord, 
the  Zion  of  the  Holy  One  of  Israel. 

"  And  the  Gentiles  shall  come  to  thy  light,  and 
kings  to  the  brightness  of  thy  rising. 

"  And  kings  shall  be  thy  nursing  fathers,  and  their 
queens  thy  nursing  mothers. 

"  Thou  shalt  also  be  a  crown  of  glory  in  the  hand 
of  the  Lord,  and  a  royal  diadem  in  the  hand  of  thy 
God. 

"  Behold,  thy  salvation  cometh ;  behold,  his  reward 
is  with  him  and  his  work  before  him." 

This  is  the  subject  of  which  the  gorgeous  Isaiah 
sang;  and  the  prophesy  of  Joseph  and  the  poetry 
of  Eliza  have  applied  it  principally  to  America  as 
Zion,  and  conditionally,  to  Queen  Victoria  as  her 
"  Nursing  Mother." 

Many  earthly  thrones  were  about  to  totter.  Soon 
France — from  the  days  of  Charlemagne  styled 
"  The  Eldest  Daughter  of  the  Church" — saw  her 
crown  trampled  in  the  very  gutter,  by  the  rabble  of 
Paris,  and  a  few  years  later  the  scepter  of  Rome 
was  wrested  from  the  hands  of  the  "  successor  of  St 
Peter  "  by  Victor  Emanuel ;  yet  of  Victoria  of  Eng- 
land, Zion's  poetess  sings : 

"  But  still  her  sceptre  is  approved." 

Mark  the  poetic  and  prophetic  significance  be- 
tween America  as  Zion,  and  Great  Britain,  repre- 
sented in  Victoria.  A  new  age  is  born.  Victoria 
is  its  imperial  star;  while  from  America — the  land 
that  owns  no  earthly  sovereign — come  these  apostles 
to  her  realm  just  three  days  after  the  sceptre  is 
placed  in  her  hands.  The  prophet  of  America  sends 
them  to  proclaim  to  Great  Britain  the  rising  of  a 


282  THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM. 

star  superior  to  her  own.  It  is  the  star  of  Messiah's 
kingdom.  She  is  called  to  her  mission  as  its  Nurs- 
ing Mother. 

Seeing  that  Joseph  was  the  prophet  of  America, 
and  that  the  British  mission  has  given  to  the  Mor- 
mon Zion  over  a  hundred  thousand  of  her  children 
already  gathered  to  build  up  her  cities  and  rear  her 
temples,  it  is  not  strange  that  the  burden  of  this 
prophesy  should  have  been  claimed  and  shared  be- 
^tween  the  two  great  English  speaking  nations. 

But  there  is  a  personal  romance  as  well,  which 
centres  in  Victoria.  At  the  time  Sister  Eliza  wrote 
the  poem  to  her  name,  Victoria  of  England  was 
quite  a  theme  in  the  Mormon  Church.  Not  only 
in  her  own  realm,  among  her  own  subjects,  but  in 
Zion  also  she  was  preached  about,  prophesied  about, 
dreamed  about,  and  seen  in  visions.  Brigham,  as 
we  have  seen,  caused  special  copies  of  the  Book  of 
Mormon  to  be  prepared  for  her  and  Prince  Albert ; 
Lorenzo  Snow  presented  them  through  the  courtesy 
of  a  state  personage,  and  his  sister  immortalized 
the  circumstance  in  verse.  The  story  is  told,  also, 
that  Heber  C.  Kimball,  while  in  London,  blessed 
Victoria,  as  she  passed,  by  the  power  and  authority 
of  his  apostleship ;  and  what  Heber  did  was  done 
with  the  spirit  and  with  the  understanding  also. 
Queen  Victoria  has  been  remarkably  successful,  and 
unrivalled  in  the  glory  of  her  reign. 


CHAPTER  XXIX. 

LITERAL     APPLICATION    OF     CHRIST'S     COMMAND THE 

SAINTS    LEAVE    FATHER    AND    MOTHER,    HOME    AND 

-      FRIENDS,     TO     GATHER      TO      ZION MRS.     WILLIAM 

STAINES HER    EARLY    LIFE    AND    EXPERIENCE A 

MIDNIGHT     BAPTISM     IN     MIDWINTER FAREWELL 

TO  HOME  AND    EVERY  FRIEND INCIDENTS   OF  THE 

JOURNEY    TO    NAUVOO. 

How  characteristic  the  following  gospel  passages ! 
How  well  and  literally  have  they  been  applied  in 
the  history  and  experience  of  the  Latter-day  Saints: 

"  He  that  loveth  father  or  mother  more  than  me, 
is  not  worthy  of  me;  and  he  that  loveth  son  or 
daughter  more  than  me,  is  not  worthy  of  me. 

"  And  he  that  taketh  not  his  cross,  and  followeth 
after  me,  is  not  worthy  of  me. 

"  He  that  findeth  his  life  shall  lose  it ;  and  he  that 
loseth  his  life  for  my  sake,  shall  find  it. 

"  And  every  one  that  has  forsaken  houses,  or 
brethren,  or  sisters,  or  father,  or  mother,  or  wife,  or 
children,  or  lands,  for  my  name's  sake,  shall  receive 
a  hundred  fold,  and  shall  inherit  everlasting  life." 

This  gospel  was  preached  by  the  Mormon  elders 
with  nothing  of  the  "  spiritual "  sense  so  acceptable 
to  fashionable  churches.  Nothing  of  the  idealistic 
glamour  was  given  to  it.  Most  literal,  indeed  almost 
cruelly  Christian,  was  Mormonism  here. 


284  THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM. 

But  it  was  not  until  the  "  gathering  "  was  preached 
to  the  disciples  in  Great  Britain,  that  the  full  signifi- 
cance of  such  a  gospel  was  realized.  True  it  was 
made  as  severe  to  the  saints  in  America,  through 
their  persecutions ;  especially  when  at  length  they 
were  driven  from  the  borders  of  civilization.  To 
the  British  mission,  however,  in  the  early  days,  we 
must  go  for  striking  illustrations.  A  "  gathering 
dispensation  "  preached  to  Europe  before  the  age 
of  emigration  had  set  in  !  At  first  it  startled,  aye, 
almost  appalled  the  disciples  in  Great  Britain.  In 
those  days  the  common  people  of  England  scarcely 
ever  strayed  ten  miles  from  the  churchyards  where 
had  slept  their  kindred  from  generation  to  genera- 
tion. True  the  mechanic  traveled  in  search  of 
employment  from  one  manufacturing  city  to  another, 
passed  along  by  the  helping  hand  of  trade  societies  ; 
but  families,  as  a  rule,  never  moved.  Migration  was 
to  them  an  incomprehensible  law,  to  be  wondered 
at  even  in  the  example  of  the  birds  who. were  forced 
by  climate  to  migrate  as  the  season  changed.  Mi- 
grating peoples  could  only  be  understood  in  the 
examples  of  the  Jews  or  Gipseys,  both  of  whom 
were  looked  upon  as  being  "  under  the  curse." 
"  Going  to  London  "  was  the  crowning  event  of  a 
lifetime  to  even  the  well-to-do  townsman,  a  hundred 
miles  distant  from  the  metropolis  ;  going  to  America 
was  like  an  imagined  flight  to  the  moon.  At  best 
emigration  was  transportation  from  fatherland,  and 
the  emigration  of  tens  of  thousands  of  England- 
loving  saints  was  a  transportation  to  the  common 
people  without  parallel  for  cruelty. 

It  was  long  before  English  society  forgave  the 


THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM.  285 

American  elders  for  preaching  emigration  in  Eng- 
land. It  looked  upon  them  absolutely  as  the  be- 
trayers of  a  confiding  religious  people  who  had 
already  been  too  much  betrayed  by  an  American 
delusion. 

And  as  observed,  the  doctrine  of  emigration  from 
native  land  to  America — the  new  world ;  another 
world  in  seeming — and  that,  too,  as  a  necessity  to 
salvation,  or  at  least  to  the  obedience  of  heaven's 
commands,  appalled  at  first  the  very  "  elect."  Noth- 
ing but  the  Holy  Ghost  could  dissipate  the  terrors 
of  emigration. 

Sister  Staines  shall  be  first  chosen  to  personally 
illustrate  this  subject,  because  of  the  peculiarity  of 
her  experience,  and  for  the  reason  that  she  is  the 
wife  of  William  C.  Staines,  himself  an  early  Mor- 
mon emigrant  to  Nauvoo,  and  to-day  the  general 
emigration  agent  of  the  Church,  and  who,  during 
the  past  fifteen  years,  has  emigrated,  under  the 
direction  of  President  Young,  about  fifty  thousand 
souls  from  Europe.  Others  of  the  sisters  will  fol- 
low in  this  peculiar  line  of  Mormon  history. 

Priscilla  Mogridge  Staines  was  born  in  Widbrook, 
Wiltshire,  England,  March  nth,  1823. 

"  My  parents,"  she  says,  "  were  both  English. 
"  My  father's  name  was  John  Mogridge,  and  my 
"  mother's  maiden  name  was  Mary  Crook. 

"  I  was  brought  up  in  the  Episcopal  faith  from 
44  my  earliest  childhood,  my  parents  being  members 
"  of  the  Episcopal  Church.  But  as  my  mind  became 
"  matured,  and  I  thought  more  about  religion,  I 
"became  dissatisfied  with  the  doctrines  taught  by 
"  that  Church,  and  I  prayed  to  God  my  Heavenly 


286  THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM. 

"  Father  to  direct  me  aright,  that  I  might  know  the 
"  true  religion. 

"  Shortly  after  being  thus  concerned  about  my 
"  salvation,  I  heard  Mormonism  and  believed  it 
"  God  had  sent  the  true  gospel  to  me  in  answer  to 
"  my  prayer. 

"It  was  a  great  trial  for  a  young  maiden  (I  was 
"  only  nineteen  years  of  age)  to  forsake  all  for  the 
"  gospel — father,  mother,  brothers  and  sisters — and 
"  to  leave  my  childhood's  home  and  native  land, 
"  never  expecting  to  see  it  again.  This  was  the 
"  prospect  before  me.  The  saints  were  already 
"leaving  fatherland,  in  obedience  to  the  doctrine  of 
"gathering,  which  was  preached  at  this  time  with 
"great  plainness  by  the  elders  as  an  imperative 
"  command  of  God.  We  looked  upon  the  gathering 
"as  necessary  to  our  salvation.  Nothing  of  our 
"  duty  in  this  respect  was  concealed,  and  we  were 
"  called  upon  to  emigrate  to  America  as  soon  as  the 
"  way  should  open,  to  share  the  fate  of  the  saints, 
"  whatever  might  come.  Young  as  I  was  and  alone 
"  of  all  my  family  in  the  faith,  I  was  called  to  take 
"  up  my  cross  and  lay  my  earthly  all  upon  the  altar; 
"  yet  so  well  satisfied  was  I  with  my  new  religion 
"  that  I  was  willing  to  make  every  sacrifice  for  it  in 
"order  to  gain  my  salvation  and  prove  myself  not 
"  unworthy  of  the  saints'  reward. 

"  Having  determined  to  be  baptized,  I  resolved 
"  to  at  once  obey  the  gospel,  although  it  was  mid- 
"  winter,  and  the  weather  bitterly  cold. 

"It  is  proper  to  here  state  that  baptism  was  a 
"trial  to  the  converts  in  England  in  those  days. 
"  They  had  to  steal  away,  even  unknown  to  their 


THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM.  287 

"  friends  oftentimes,  and  scarcely  daring  to  tell  the 
"  saints  themselves  that  they  were  about  to  take  up 
"the  cross;  and  npt  until  the  ordinance  had  been 
"administered,  and  the  Holy  Ghost  gave  them 
"  boldness,  could  they  bring  themselves  to  proclaim 
"  openly  that  they  had  cast  in  their  lot  with  the 
"despised  Mormons.  Nor  was  this  all,  for  generally 
"  the  elders  had  to  administer  baptism  when  the 
"  village  was  wrapt  in  sleep,  lest  persecutors  should 
"gather  a  mob  to  disturb  the  solemn  scene  with 
"gibes  and  curses,  accompanied  with  stones  or  clods 
"  of  earth  torn  from  the  river  bank  and  hurled  at 
"  the  disciple  and  minister  during  the  performance 
"  of  the  ceremony. 

"On  the  evening  of  a  bitterly  cold  day  in  mid- 
"  winter,  as  before  stated,  I  walked  four  miles  to  the 
"  house  of  a  local  elder  for  baptfsm.  Arriving  at  his 
"  house,  we  waited  until  midnight,  in  order  that  the 
"  neighbors  might  not  disturb  us,  and  then  repaired 
"  to  a  stream  of  water  a  quarter  of  a  mile  away. 
"  Here  we  found  the  water,  as  we  anticipated,  frozen 
"  over,  and  the  elder  had  to  chop  a  hole  in  the  ice 
"large  enough  for  the  purpose  of  baptism.  It  was 
"  a  scene  and  an  occasion  I  shall  never  forget. 
"  Memory  to-day  brings  back  the  emotions  and 
"sweet  awe  of  that  moment.  None  but  God  and 
"  his  angels,  and  the  few  witnesses  who  stood  on  the 
"  bank  with  us,  heard  my  covenant ;  but  in  the 
"solemnity  of  that  midnight  hour  it  seemed  as 
"though  all  nature  were  listening,  and  the  recording 
"  angel  writing  our  words  in  the  book  of  the  Lord. 
"  Is  it  strange  that^such  a  scene,  occurring  in  the  life 
"  of  a  latter-day  saint,  should  make  an  everlasting 
"impression,  as  this  did  on  mine? 


288  THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM. 

"  Having  been  thus  baptized,  I  returned  to  the 
"  house  in  my  wet  and  freezing  garments. 

"  Up  to  this  hour,  as  intimated,  my  heart's  best 
"  affection  had  been  centred  on  home,  and  my 
"greatest  mental  struggle  in  obeying  the  gospel 
"  had  been  over  the  thought  of  soon  leaving  that 
"home;  but  no  sooner  had  I  emerged  from  the 
"  water,  on  that  night  of  baptism,  and  received  my 
"  confirmation  at  the  water's  edge,  than  I  became 
"filled  with  an  irresistible  desire  to  join  the  saints 
"who  were  gathering  to  America.  The  usual  con- 
"  firmation  words,  pronounced  upon  my  head,  '  Re- 
"ceive  ye  the  gift  of  the  Holy  Ghost,'  were,  indeed, 
"  potent.  They  changed  the  current  of  my  life.  This 
"remarkable  and  sudden  change  of  mind  and  the 
"  now  all-absorbing  desire  to  emigrate  with  the 
"  saints  was  my  first  testimony  to  the  truth  and 
"power  of  the  gospel. 

"Shortly  thereafter  (December  2;th,  1843),  I  left 
"  the  home  of  my  birth  to  gather  to  Nauvoo.  I  was 
"  alone.  It  was  a  dreary  winter  day  on  which  I  went 
"  to  Liverpool.  The  company  with  wrhich  I  was  to 
"  sail  were  all  strangers  to  me.  When  I  arrived  at 
"  Liverpool  and  saw  the  ocean  that  would  soon  roll 
"  between  me  and  all  I  loved,  my  heart  almost  failed 
"  me.  But  I  had  laid  my  idols  all  upon  the  altar. 
"  There  was  no  turning  back.  I  remembered  the 
"words  of  the  Saviour:  '  He  that  leaveth  not  father 
"and  mother,  brother  and  sister,  for  my  sake,  is  not 
"  worthy  of  me,'  and  I  believed  his  promise  to  those 
"  who  forsook  all  for  his  sake ;  so  I  thus  alone  set 
"  out  for  the  reward  of  everlasting  life,  trusting  in 
"  God 


THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM.  289 

"In  company  with  two  hundred  and  fifty  saints  I 
"  embarked  on.  the  sailing  vessel  Fanny,  and  after  a 
"  tedious  passage  of  six  weeks'  duration,  we  arrived 
"  in  New  Orleans.  There  an  unexpected  difficulty 
"  met  us.  The  steamer  Maid  of  Iowa,  belonging  to 
"  the  prophet  Joseph,  and  on  which  the  company  of 
"saints  had  expected  to  ascend  the  Mississippi  to 
"  Nauvoo,  was  embargoed  and  lashed  to  the  wharf. 
"  But  Providence  came  to  our  aid.  A  lady  of  for- 
tune was  in  the  company — a  Mrs.  Bennett — and 
"  out  of  her  private  purse  she  not  only  lifted  the 
"  embargo,  but  also  fitted  out  the  steamer  with  all 
"  necessary  provisions,  fuel,  etc.,  and  soon  the  com- 
"  pany  were  again  on  their  way. 

"  The  journey  up  the  river  was  a  tedious  and 
"  eventful  one,  consuming  five  weeks  of  time.  At 
"  nearly  every  stopping  place  the  emigrants  were 
"shamefully  insulted  and  persecuted  by  the  citizens. 
"At  Memphis  some  villain  placed  a  half  consumed 
"  cigar  under  a  straw  mattress  and  other  bedding 
"  that  had  been  laid  out,  aft  of  the  ladies'  cabin,  to 
"  air.  When  we  steamed  out  into  the  river  the  draft, 
"  created  by  the  motion  of  the  boat,  soon  fanned  the 
"fire  into  a  quick  flame.  Fortunately  I  myself  dis- 
"  covered  the  fire  and  gave  the  alarm  in  time  to 
"  have  it  extinguished  before  it  had  consumed  more 
"  than  a  portion  of  the  adjoining  woodwork.  Per- 
"haps  one  minute  more  of  delay  in  its  discovery, 
"  and  that  company  of  two  hundred  and  fifty  souls 
"  would  have  been  subjected  to  all  the  horrors  and 
"  perils  incident  to  a  panic  and  fire  on  shipboard. 

"  At  another  place  the  pilot  decided  to  tie  up  the 
"boat  at  a  landing  and  wait  for  the  subsiding  of  a 


290  'MIE   WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM. 

"  furious  gale  that  was  blowing.  This  he  accord- 
"  mgly  did,  and  let  off  steam,  thinking  to  remain 
"there  over  night.  In  the  meantime  a  mob  gath- 
"  ered.  We  were  Mormons.  Too  often  had  mobs 
"shown  that  the  property  of  Mormons  might  be 
"  destroyed  with  impunity,  in  the  most  lawless  man- 
"  ner,  and  their  lives  taken  by  the  most  horrible 
"means.  Had  that  boat  been  consumed  by  fire, 
"'twould,  have  been  but  a  pleasing  sensation,  seeing 
"that  it  belonged  to  the  Mormon  prophet ;  and  the 
"two  hundred  and  fifty  men,  women  and  children, 
"  if  consumed,  would  have  been,  in  the  eyes  of  their 
"persecutors,  only  so  many  Mormons  well  disposed 
"  of.  Thus,  doubtless,  would  have  thought  the  mob 
"  who  gathered  at  that  landing-place  and  cut  the 
"  bpat  adrift  The  Maid  of  Iowa  was  now  submitted 
"  to  the  triple  peril  of  being  adrift  without  steam, 
"  at  the  mercy  of  a  treacherous  current,  and  in  the 
"  midst  of  a  hurricane.  The  captain,  however,  suc- 
"ceeded  in  raising  the  steam,  and  the  boat  was 
"brought  under  sufficient  control  to  enable  her  to 
"be  brought  to,  under  shelter  of  a  heavy  forest, 
"  where  she  was  tied  up  to  the  trees  and  weathered 
"  the  gale. 

"  At  another  landing  a  mob  collected  and  began 
"  throwing  stones  through  the  cabin  windows,  smash- 
"  ing  the  glass  and  sash,  and  jeopardizing  the  lives 
"  of  the  passengers.  This  was  a  little  too  much  for 
"  human  forbearance.,  The  boat  was  in  command  of 
"the  famous  Mormon  captain,  Dan  Jones;  hU 
"  Welsh  blood  was  now  thoroughly  warm  ;  he  knew 
"  what  mobs  meant.  Mustering  the  brethren*  with 
"  determined  wrath  he  ordered  them  to  parade  with 


THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM.  29! 

"  loaded  muskets  on  the  side  of  the  boat  assailed. 
"  Then  he  informed  the  mob  that  if  they  did  not 
41  instantly  desist,  he  would  shoot  them  down  like  so 
"  many  dogs ;  and  like  so  many  dogs  they  slunk 
"  away. 

"  As  the  Maid  of  Iowa  had  made  slow  progress, 
41  and  had  been  frequently  passed  by  more  swift- 
"  going  steamers,  her  progress  was  well  known  by 
41  the  friends  of  Nauvoo.  So  on  the  day  of  our 
"  arrival  the  saints  were  out  en  masse  to  welcome  us. 
41  I  had  never  before  seen  any  of  those  assembled, 
"yet  I  felt  certain,  as  the  boat  drew  near,  that  I 
"should  be  able  to  pick  out  the  prophet  Joseph  at 
"  first  sight.  This  belief  I  communicated  to  Mrs. 
"  Bennett,  whose  acquaintance  I  had  made  on  the 
"  voyage.  She  wondered  at  it ;  but  I  felt  impressed 
"by  the  spirit  that  I  should  know  him.  As  we 
"  neared  the  pier  the  prophet  was  standing  among 
"  the  crowd.  At  the  moment,  however,  I  recognized 
"  him  according  to  the  impression,  and  pointed  him 
"out  to  Mrs.  Bennett,  with  whom  I  was  standing 
"alone  on  the  hurricane  deck. 

"  Scarcely  had  the  boat  touched  the  pier  when, 
"singularly  enough,  Joseph  sprang  on  board,  and, 
"  without  speaking  with  any  one,  made  his  way  direct 
"to  where  we  were  standing,  and  addressing  Mrs. 
"  Bennett  by  name,  thanked  her  kindly  for  lifting 
"  the  embargo  from  his  boat,  and  blessed  her  for  so 
"  materially  aiding  the  saints." 


CHAPTER  XXX. 


RISE    OF     NAUVOO INTRODUCTION    OF     POLYGAMY: — 

MARTYRDOM  OF  JOSEPH  AND  HYRUM CONTINU- 
ATION OF  ELIZA  R.  SNOW'S  NARRATIVE HER  AC- 
CEPTANCE OF  POLYGAMY,  AND  MARRIAGE  TO 

THE  PROPHET GOVERNOR  CARLIN's  TREACHERY— 

HER     SCATHING     REVIEW    OF     THE     MARTYRDOM- 
MOTHER    LUCY'S    STORY    OF    HER    MURDERED    SONS. 


Meanwhile,  since  the  reader  has  been  called  to 
drop  the  historical  thread  of  the  saints  in  America 
for  a  view  of  the  rise  of  Mormonism  in  foreign  lands, 
Nauvoo,  whose  name  signifies  "  the  beautiful  city," 
has  grown  into  an  importance  worthy  her  romantic 
name  and  character  as  the  second  Zion.  Nauvoo 
was  bidding  fair  to  become  the  queen  of  the  West; 
and  had  she  been  allowed  to  continue  her  career  for 
a  quarter  of  a  century,  inspired  by  the  gorgeous 
genius  of  her  prophet,  although  she  would  not  have 
rivaled  Chicago  or  St.  Louis  as  a  commercial  city, 
yet  would  she  have  become  the  veritable  New  Jeru- 
salem of  America — in  the  eyes  of  the  "Gentiles" 
scarcely  less  than  in  the  faith  of  our  modern  Israel. 

Polygamy,  also,  by  this  time  has  been  introduced 
into  the  Church,  and  the  examples  of  the  patriarchs 
Abraham  and  Jacob,  and  of  kings  David  and  Solo- 


THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM.  293 

mon,  have  begun  to  prevail.  That  the  "  peculiar 
institution  "  was  the  cross  of  the  sisterhood  in  those 
days,  it  would  be  heartless  to  attempt  to  conceal, 
for,  as  already  seen,  the  first  wives  of  the  founders 
of  Mormondom  were  nearly  all  daughters  of  New 
England,  whose  monogamic  training  was  of  the 
severest  kind,  and  whose  monogamic  conceptions 
were  of  the  most  exacting  nature/ 

Polygamy  was  undoubtedly  introduced  by  Joseph 
himself,  at  Nauvoo,  between  1840  and  1844.  Years 
afterwards,  however,  a  monogamic  rival  church, 
under  the  leadership  of  young  Joseph  Smith,  the 
first  born  of  the  prophet,  arose,  denying  that  the 
founder  of  Mormondom  was  the  author  of  polygamy, 
and  affirming  that  its  origin  was  in  Brigham  Young, 
subsequent  to  the  martyrdom  of  the  prophet  and 
his  brother  Hyrum.  This,  with  the  fact  that  nearly 
the  whole  historic  weight  of  polygamy  rests  with 
Utah,  renders  it  expedient  that  we  should  barely 
touch  the  subject  at  Nauvoo,  and  wait  for  its  stu- 
pendous sensation  after  its  publication  to  the  world 
by  Brigham  Young — a  sensation  that  Congress  has 
swelled  into  a  national  noise,  and  that  General 
Grant  has  made  the  hobgoblin  of  his  dreams. 

Nor  can  we  deal  largely  with  the  history  of 
Nauvoo.  It  is  not  the  representative  period  of  the 
sisters.  They  only  come  in  with  dramatic  force  in 
their  awful  lamentation  over  the  martyrdom,  which 
was  not  equaled  in  Jerusalem  at  the  crucifixion. 
The  great  historic  period  of  the  women  of  Mormon- 
dom is  during  the  exodus  of  the  Church  and  its 
removal  to  the  Rocky  Mountains,  when  they  figured 
quite  as  strongly  as  did  the  women  of  ancient  Israel 


2Q4  THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM. 

in  the  exodus  from  Egypt.  We  can  scarcely  hope 
to  do  full  justice  to  that  period,  but  hasten  to  some 
of  its  salient  views.  And  here  the  historic  thread 
shall  be  principally  continued  by  Eliza  R.  Snow. 
She,  touching  the  city  of  the  saints,  and  then  slightly 
on  the  introduction  of  polygamy,  says : 

"  The  location  of  the  city  of  Nauvoo  was  beauti- 
ful, but  the  climate  was  so  unhealthy  that  none  but 
Latter-day  Saints,  full  of  faith,  and  trusting  in  the 
power  of  God,  could  have  established  that  city. 
Chills  and  fever  was  the  prevailing  disease.  Not- 
withstanding we  had  this  to  contend  with,  through 
the  blessing  of  God  on  the  indefatigable  exertions 
of  the  saints,  it  was  not  long  before  Nauvoo 
prompted  the  envy  and  jealousy  of  many  of  the  ad- 
jacent inhabitants,  and,  as  the  '  accuser  of  the  breth- 
ren '  never  sleeps,  we  had  many  difficulties  to  meet, 
which  ultimately  culminated  in  the  most  bitter  per- 
secutions. 

"  To  narrate  what  transpired  within  the  seven 
years  in  which  we  built  and  occupied  Nauvoo,  the 
beautiful,  would  fill  many  volumes.  That  is  a  his- 
tory that  never  will,  and  never  can,  repeat  itself. 
Some  of  the  most  important  events  of  my  life  trans- 
pired within  that  brief  term,  in  which  I  was  married, 
and  in  which  my  husband,  Joseph  Smith,  the  pro- 
phet of  God,  sealed  his  testimony  with  his  blood. 

"  Although  in  my  youth  I  had  considered  marriage 
to  have  been  ordained  of  God,  I  had  remained  single; 
and  to-day  I  acknowledge  the  kind  overruling  prov- 
idences of  God  in  that  circumstance  as  fully  as  in 
any  other  of  my  life ;  for  I  have  not  known  of  one 
of  my  former  suitors  having  received  the  truth ;  by 


THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM.  295 

which  it  is  manifest  that  I  was  singularly  preserved 
from  the  bondage  of  a  marriage  tie  which  would,  in 
all  probability,  have  prevented  my  receiving,  or  en- 
joying the  free  exercise  of,  that  religion  which  has 
been,  and  is  now,  dearer  to  me  than  life. 

"  In  Nauvoo  I  had  the  first  intimation,  or  at  least 
the  first  understanding,  that  the  practice  of  a  plu- 
rality of  wives  would  be  introduced  into  the  Church. 
The  thought  was  very  repugnant  to  my  feelings,  and 
in  direct  opposition  to  my  educational  preposses- 
sions ;  but  when  I  reflected  that  this  was  the  dis- 
pensation of  the  fullness  of  times,  embracing  all 
other  dispensations,  it  was  plain  that  plural  marriage 
must  be  included;  and  I  consoled  myself  with  the 
idea  that  it  was  a  long  way  in  the  distance,  beyond 
the  period  of  my  mortal  existence,  and  that,  of 
course,  I  should  not  have  it  to  meet.  However,  it 
was  announced  to  me  that  the  *  set  time  '  had  come — 
that  God  had  commanded  his  servants  to  establish 
the  order,  by  taking  additional  wives. 

"It  seemed  for  awhile  as  though  all  the  tradi- 
tions, prejudices,  and  superstitions  of  my  ancestry, 
for  many  generations,  accumulated  before  me  in  one 
immense  mass ;  but  God,  who  had  kept  silence  for 
centuries,  was  speaking;  I  knew  it,  and  had  cove- 
nanted in  the  waters  of  baptism  to  live  by  every 
word  of  his,  and  my  heart  was  still  firmly  set  to  do 
his  bidding. 

"  I  was  sealed  to  the  prophet,  Joseph  Smith,  for 
time  and  eternity,  in  accordance  with  the  celestial 
law  of  marriage  which  God  had  revealed,  the  cere- 
mony being  performed  by  a  servant  of  the  Most 
High — authorized  to  officiate  in  sacred  ordinances. 


296  THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM. 

This,  one  of  the  most  important  events  of  my  life, 
I  have  never  had  cause  to  regret.  The  more  I  com- 
prehend the  pure  and  ennobling  principle  of  plural 
marriage,  the  more  I  appreciate  it.  It  is  a  necessity 
in  the  salvation  of  the  human  family — a  necessity 
in  redeeming  woman  from  the  curse,  and  the  world 
from  its  corruptions. 

"  When  I  entered  into  it,  my  knowledge  of  what 
it  was  designed  to  accomplish  was  very  limited  ;  had 
I  then  understood  what  I  now  understand,  I  think 
I  should  have  hailed  its  introduction  with  joy,  in 
consideration  of  the  great  good  to  be  accomplished. 
As  it  was,  I  received  it  because  I  knew  that  God 
required  it. 

"  When  in  March,  1842,  the  prophet,  Joseph  Smith, 
assisted  by  some  of  the  leading  elders  in  the  church, 
organized  the  Female  Relief  Society  (now  the  great 
female  organization  of  Utah),  I  was  present,  and 
was  appointed  secretary  of  that  society,  of  which  I 
shall  say  more  hereafter.  In  the  summer  of  1842  I 
accompanied  Mrs.  Emma  Smith,  the  president  of  the 
society,  to  Quincy,  111.,  with  a  petition  signed  by 
several  hundred  members  of  the  society,  praying 
his  Excellency,  Governor  Carlin,  for  protection  from 
illegal  suits  then  pending  against  Joseph  Smith. 
We  met  with  a  very  cordial  reception,  and  presented 
the  petition,  whereupon  the  governor  pledged  his 
word  and  honor  that  he  would  use  his  influence  to 
protect  Mr.  Smith,  whose  innocence  he  acknowl- 
edged. But,  soon  after  our  return,  we  learned  that 
at  the  time  of  our  visit  and  while  making  protesta- 
tions of  friendship,  Governor  Carlin  was  secretly 
conniving  with  the  basest  of  men  to  destroy  our 


THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM.  297 

leader.  He  was  even  combining  with  minions  of 
the  great  adversary  of  truth  in  the  State  of  Missouri, 
who  were  vigilant  in  stirring  up  their  colleagues  in 
Illinois,  to  bring  about  the  terrible  crisis. 

"  The  awful  tragedy  of  the  27th  of  June,  1844,  is 
a  livid,  burning,  scathing  stain  on  our  national 
escutcheon.  To  look  upon  the  noble,  lifeless  forms 
of  those  brothers,  Joseph  and  Hyrum  Smith,  as 
they  lay  side  by  side  in  their  burial  clothes,  having 
been  brought  home  from  Carthage,  where  they  had 
been  slaughtered  in  their  manhood  and  in  their  in- 
nocence, was  a  sight  that  might  well  appal  the  heart 
of  a  true  American  citizen;  but  what  it  was  for 
loving  wives  and  children,  the  heart  may  feel,  but 
the  tongue  can  never  tell. 

"  This  scene  occurred  in  America,  '  the  land  of  the 
free  and  the  home  of  the  brave/  to  which  our  an- 
'cestors  fled  for  religious  freedom — where  the  '  dear 
old  flag  yet  waves/  and  under  which  not  one  effort 
has  been  made  to  bring  to  justice  the  perpetrators 
of  that  foul  deed." 

To  the  aged  mother  of  the  prophet  and  patriarch 
of  the  Mormon  Church  shall  be  given  the  personal 
presentation  of  the  subject  of  the  martyrdom;  for 
although  the  mother's  heartrending  description  can- 
not be  considered  as  a  sufficiently  great  historical 
word-picture  of  the  scene,  yet  there  is  much  of 
tragic  force  in  it.  She  says  : 

"On  the  morning  of  the  24th  of  June,  1844, 
"Joseph  and  Hyrum  were  arrested  for  treason,  by  a 
"warrant  founded  upon  the  oaths  of  A.  O.  Norton 
"  and  Augustine  Spencer. 

"  I  will  not  dwell  upon  the  awful  scene  which  sue- 


298  THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM. 

"  ceeded.  My  heart  is  thrilled  with  grief  and  indig- 
"  nation,  and  my  blood  curdles  in  my  veins  whenever 
"  I  speak  of  it. 

"  My  sons  were  thrown  into  jail,  where  they  re- 
"  mained  three  days,  in  company  with  Brothers 
"  Richards,  Taylor,  and  Markham.  At  the  end  of 
"  this  time,  the  governor  disbanded  most  of  the  men, 
"  but  left  a  guard  of  eight  of  our  bitterest  enemies 
"over  the  jail,  and  sixty  more  of  the  same  character 
"  about  a  hundred  yards  distant.  He  then  came  into 
"  Nauvoo  with  a  guard  of  fifty  or  sixty  men,  made 
"  a  short  speech,  and  returned  immediately.  During 
"  his  absence  from  Carthage,  the  guard  rushed 
"  Brother  Markham  out  pf  the  place  at  the  point  of 
"the  bayonet.  Soon  after  this,  two  hundred  of 
"those  discharged  in  the  morning  rushed  into  Car- 
"  thage,  armed,  and  painted  black,  red  and  yellow, 
"and  in  ten  minutes  fled  again,  leaving  my  sons 
"  murdered  and  mangled  corpses  ! 

"In  leaving  the  place,  a  few  of  them  found  Samuel 
"coming  into  Carthage  alone,  on  horseback,  and 
"  finding  that  he  was  one  of  our  family,  they  at- 
"  tempted  to  shoot  him,  but  he  escaped  out  of  their 
"  hands,  although  they  pursued  him  at  the  top  of 
"  their  speed  for  more  than  two  hours.  He  suc- 
"  ceeded  the  next  day  in  getting  to  Nauvoo  in  season 
"  to  go  out  and  meet  the  procession  with  the  bodies 
"of  Hyrum  and  Joseph,  as  the  mob  had  the  kind- 
"  ness  to  allow  us  the  privilege  of  bringing  them 
"  home,  and  burying  them  in  Nauvoo,  notwithstand- 
"  ing  the  immense  reward  which  was  offered  by  the 
"  Missourians  for  Joseph's  head. 

"  Their  bodies  were  attended  home  by  only  two 


THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM.  299 

"persons,  save  those  who  went  from  this  place. 
"  These  were  Brother  Willard  Richards,  and  a  Mr. 
"  Hamilton  ;  Brother  John  Taylor  having  been  shot 
"  in  prison,  and  nearly  killed,  he  could  not  be  moved 
"  until  sometime  afterwards. 

"  After  the  corpses  were  washed,  and  dressed  in 
"  their  burial  clothes,  we  were  allowed  to  see  them. 
"  I  had  for  a  long  time  braced  every  nerve,  roused 
"  every  energy  of  my  soul,  and  called  upon  God  to 
"  strengthen  me  ;  but  when  I  entered  the  room,  and 
"  saw  my  murdered  sons  extended  both  at  once  be- 
"  fore  my  eyes,  and  heard  the  sobs  and  groans  of 
"my  family,  and  the  cries  of  'Father!  husband! 
"  brothers !'  from  the  lips  of  their  wives,  children, 
"brother,  and  sisters,  it  was  too  much  ;  I  sank  back, 
"  crying  to  the  Lord,  in  the  agony  of  my  soul, 
"'My  God,  my  God,  why  hast  thou  forsaken '  this 
"  family !'  A  voice  replied,  '  I  have  taken  them  to 
"myself,  that  they  might  have  rest.'  Emma  was 
"  carried  back  to  her  room  almost  in  a  state  of  in- 
"  sensibility.  Her  oldest  son  approached  the  corpse, 
"  and  dropped  upon  his  knees,  and  laying  his  cheek 
"against  his  father's  and  kissing  him,  exclaimed, 
"  '  Oh  !  my  father  !  my  father  !'  As  for  myself,  I  was 
"  swallowed  up  in  the  depth  of  my  afflictions  ;  and 
"  though  my  soul  was  filled  with  horror  past  imagi- 
"  nation,  yet  I  was  dumb,  until  I  arose  again  to 
"  contemplate  the  spectacle  before  me.  Oh  !  at  that 
"  moment  how  my  mind  flew  through  every  scene  of 
"  sorrow  and  distress  which  we  had  passed  together, 
"  in  which  they  had  shown  the  innocence  and  sym- 
"  pathy  which  filled  their  guileless  hearts.  As  I 
"  looked  upon  their  peaceful,  smiling  countenances, 


3OO  THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM. 

"  I  seemed  almost  to  hear  them  say,  'Mother,  weep 
"not  for  us,  we  have  overcome  the  world  by  love; 
"we  carried  to  them  the  gospel,  that  their  souls 
"  might  be  saved ;  they  slew  us  for  our  testimony, 
"  and  thus  placed  us  beyond  their  power ;  their  as- 
"  cendency  is  for  a  moment,  ours  is  an  eternal 
"  triumph/ 

"  I  then  thought  upon  the  promise  which  I  had 
"received  in  Missouri,  that  in  five  years  Joseph 
"  should  have  power  over  all  his  enemies.  The 
"time  had  elapsed,  and  the  promise  was  fulfilled. 

"  I  left  the  scene  and  returned  to  my  room,  to 
"ponder  upon  the  calamities  of  my  family.  Soon 
"after  this  Samuel  said:  'Mother,  I  have  had  a 
"  dreadful  distress  in  my  side  ever  since  I  was  chased 
"by  the  mob,  and  I  think  I  have  received  some 
"  injury  which  is  going  to  make  me  sick/  And  in- 
"  deed  he  was  then  not  able  to  sit  up,  as  he  had 
"been  broken  of  his  rest,  besides  being  dreadfully 
"  fatigued  in  the  chase,  which,  joined  to  the  shock 
"  occasioned  by  the  death  of  his  brothers,  brought 
"  on  a  disease  that  never  was  removed. 

"  On  the  following  day  the  funeral  rites  of  the 
"  murdered  ones  were  attended  to,  in  the  midst  of 
41  terror  and  alarm,  for  the  mob  had  made  their  ar- 
"  rangements  to  burn  the  city  that  night,  but  by  the 
"diligence  of  the  brethren,  they  were  kept  at  bay 
"until  they  became  discouraged,  and  returned  to 
"  their  homes. 

"  In  a  short  time  Samuel,  who  continued  unwell, 
"was  confined  to  his  bed,  and  lingering  till  the  3Oth 
"of  July,  his  spirit  forsook  its  earthly  tabernacle, 
"and  went  to  join  his  brothers,  and  the  ancient 
"  martyrs,  in  the  paradise  of  God."  . 


CHAPTER  XXXI. 

THE     EXODUS TO    YOUR     TENTS,    O    ISRAEL SETTING 

OUT  FROM  THE    BORDERS   OF   CIVILIZATION MOVE- 
MENTS OF  THE   CAMP  OF   ISRAEL FIRST  NIGHT   AT 

SUGAR    CREEK PRAISING   GOD    IN    THE    SONG    AND 

DANCE DEATH    BY    THE    WAYSIDE. 

The  heroism  of  the  Mormon  women  rose  to  more 
than  tragic  splendor  in  the  exodus.  Only  two  cir- 
cumstances after  the  martyrdom  connect  them 
strongly  with  their  beloved  city.  These  attach  to 
their  consecrations  in,  and  adieus  to,  the  temple, 
and  the  defence  of  Nauvoo  by  the  remnant  of  the 
saints  in  a  three  days'  battle  with  the  enemy.  Then 
came  the  evacuation  of  the  city  several  months 
after  the  majority  of  the  twelve,  with  the  body  of 
the  Church,  had  taken  up  their  march  towards  the 
Rocky  Mountains. 

Early  in  February,  1846,  the  saints  began  to  cross  , 
the    Mississippi    in    flat-boats,  old    lighters,  and    a 
number  of  skiffs,  forming  quite  a  fleet,  which  was 
at  work  night  and  day  under  the  direction  of  the 
police. 

On  the  i5th  of  the  same  month,  Brigham  Young, 
with  his  family,  and  others,  crossed  the  Mississippi 
from  Nauvoo,  and  proceeded  to  the  "  Camps  of 


3O2  THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM. 

Israel,"  as  they  were  styled  by  the  saints,  which 
waited  on  the  west  side  of  the  river,  a  few  miles  on 
the  way,  for  the  coming  of  their  leader.  These  were 
to  form  the  vanguard  of  the  migrating  saints,  who 
were  to  follow  from  the  various  States  where  they 
were  located,  or  had  organized  themselves  into 
flourishing  branches  and  conferences ;  and  soon 
after  this  period  also  began  to  pour  across  the 
Atlantic  that  tide  of  emigration  from  Europe,  which 
has  since  swelled  to  the  number  of  about  one  hun- 
dred thousand  souls. 

In  Nauvoo  the  saints  had  heard  the  magic  cry, 
"  To  your  tents,  O  Israel !"  And  in  sublime  faith 
and  trust,  such  as  history  scarcely  gives  an  example 
of,  they  had  obeyed,  ready  to  follow  their  leader 
whithersoever  he  might  direct  their  pilgrim  feet. 

The  Mormons  were  setting  out,  under  their  leader, 
from  the  borders  of  civilization,  with  their  wives 
and  their  children,  in  broad  daylight,  before  the 
eyes  of  ten  thousand  of  their  enemies,  who  would 
have  preferred  their  utter  destruction  to  their 
"flight,"  notwithstanding  they  had  enforced  it  by 
treaties  outrageous  beyond  description,  inasmuch 
as  the  exiles  were  nearly  all  American  born,  many 
of  them  tracing  their  ancestors  to  the  very  founders 
of  the  nation.  They  had  to  make  a  journey  ©f  fif- 
teen hundred  miles  over  trackless  prairies,  sandy 
deserts  and  rocky  mountains,  through  bands  of  war- 
like Indians,  who  had  been  driven,  exasperated,, 
towards  the  West ;  and  at  last  to  seek  out  and  build 
up  their  Zion  in  valleys  then  unfruitful,  in  a  solitary 
region  where  the  foot  of  the  white  man  had  scarcely 
trod.  These,  too,  were  to  be  followed  by  the  aged. 


THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM.  303 

the  halt,  the  sick  and  the  blind,  the  poor,  who  were 
to  be  helped  by  their  little  less  destitute  brethren, 
and  the  delicate  young  mother  with  her  new-born 
babe  at  her  breast,  and  still  worse,  for  they  were  not 
only  threatened  with  the  extermination  of  the  poor 
remnant  at  Nauvoo,  but  news  had  arrived  that  the 
parent  government  designed  to  pursue  their  pio- 
neers with  troops,  take  from  them  their  arms,  and 
scatter  them,  that  they  might  perish  by  the  way, 
and  leave  their  bones  bleaching  in  the  wilderness. 

At  about  noon,  on  the  ist  of  March,  1846,  the 
"  Camp  of  Israel "  began  to  move,  and  at  four  o'clock 
nearly  four  hundred  wagons  were  on  the  way,  trav- 
eling in  a  north-westerly  direction.  At  night  they 
camped  again  on  Sugar  Creek,  having  advanced 
five  miles.  Scraping  away  the  snow  they  pitched 
their  tents  upon  the  frozen  ground ;  and,  after  build- 
ing large  fires  in  front,  they  made  themselves  as 
comfortable  as  possible  under  the  circumstances. 
Indeed,  it  is  questionable  whether  any  other  people 
in  the  world  could  have  cozened  themselves  into  a 
happy  state  of  mind  amid  such  surroundings,  with 
such  a  past  fresh  and  bleeding  in  their  memories, 
and  with  such  a  prospect  as  was  before  both  them- 
selves and  the  remnant  of  their  brethren  left  in 
Nauvoo  to  the  tender  mercies  of  the  mob.  In  his 
diary,  Apostle  Orson  Pratt  wrote  that  night :  "  Nat- 
withstanding  our  sufferings,  hardships  and  priva- 
tions,, we  are  cheerful,  and  rejoice  that  we  have  the 
privilege  of  passing  through  tribulation  for  the, 
truth's  sake." 

These  Mormon  pilgrims,  who  took  much  consola- 
tion on  their  journey  in  likening  themselves  to  the 


304  THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM. 

Pilgrim  fathers  and  mothers  of  this  nation,  whose 
descendants  many  of  them,  as  we  have  seen,  actually 
were,  that  night  made  their  beds  upon  the  frozen 
earth.  "  After  bowing  before  our  great  Creator," 
wrote  Apostle  Pratt,  "  and  offering  up  praise  and 
thanksgiving  to  him,  and  imploring  his  protection, 
we  resigned  ourselves  to  the  slumbers  of  the  night." 

But  the  weather  was  more  moderate  that  night 
than  it  had  been  for  several  weeks  previous.  At 
their  first  encampment  the  thermometer  at  one  time 
fell  twenty  degrees  below  zero,  freezing  over  the 
great  Mississippi.  The  survivors  of  that  journey 
will  tell  you  they  never  suffered  so  much  from  the 
cold  in  their  lives  as  they  did  on  Sugar  Creek. 

And  what  of  the  Mormon  women  ?  Around  them 
circles  almost  a  tragic  romance.  Fancy  may  find 
abundant  subject  for  graphic  story  of  the  devotion, 
the  suffering,  the  matchless  heroism  of  the  sisters, 
in  the  telling  incident  that  nine  children  were  born 
to  them  the  first  night  they  camped  out  on  Sugar 
Creek,  February  5th,  1846.  That  day  they  wept 
their  farewells  over  their  beloved  city,  or  in  the 
sanctuary  of  the  temple,  in  which  they  had  hoped 
to  worship  till  the  end  of  life,  but  which  they  left 
never  to  see  again ;  that  night  suffering  nature  ad- 
ministered to  them  the  mixed  cup  of  woman's 
supremest  joy  and  pain. 

But  it  was  not  prayer  alone  that  sustained  these 
pilgrims.  The  practical  philosophy  of  their  great 
leader,  daily  and  hourly  applied  to  the  exigencies  of 
their  case,  did  almost  as  much  as  their  own  match- 
less faith  to  sustain  them  from  the  commencement 
to  the  end  of  their  journey.  With  that  leader  had 


THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM.  305 

very  properly  come  to  the  "  Camp  of  Israel"  several 
of  the  twelve  and  the  chief  bishops  of  the  Church, 
but  he  also  brought  with  him  a  quorum,  humble  in 
pretensions,  yet  useful  as  high  priests  to  the  saints 
in  those  spirit-saddening  days.  It  was  Captain 
Pitt's  brass  band.  That  night  the  president  had  the 
brethren  and  sisters  out  in  the  dance,  and  the  music 
was  as  glad  as  at  a  merry-making.  Several  gentle- 
men from  Iowa  gathered  to  witness  the  strange, 
interesting  scene.  They  could  scarcely  believe  their 
own  senses  when  they  were  told  that  these  were 
Mormons  in  their  "  flight  from  civilization,"  bound 
they  knew  not  whither,  except  where  God  should 
lead  them  "  by  the  hand  of  his  servant." 

Thus  in  the  song  and  the  dance  the  saints  praised 
the  Lord.  When  the  night  was  fine,  and  supper, 
which  consisted  of  the  most  primitive  fare,  was  over, 
some  of  the  men  would  clear  away  the  snow,  while 
others  bore  large  logs  to  the  camp-fires  in  anticipa- 
tion of  the  jubilee  of  the  evening.  Soon,  in  a  shel- 
tered place,  the  blazing  fires  would  roar,  and  fifty 
couples,  old  and  young,  would  join,  in  the  merriest 
spirit,  to  the  music  of  the  band,  or  the  rival  revelry 
of  the  solitary  fiddle.  As  they  journeyed  along,  too, 
strangers  constantly  visited  their  camps,  and  great 
was  their  wonderment  to  see  the  order,  unity  and 
good  feeling  that  prevailed  in  the  midst  of  the  peo- 
ple. By  the  camp-fires  they  would  linger,  listening 
to  the  music  and  song;  and  they  fain  had  taken 
part  in  the  merriment  had  not  those  scenes  been  as 
sacred  worship  in  the  exodus  of  a  God-fearing 
people.  To  fully  understand  the  incidents  here 
narrated,  the  reader  must  couple  in  his  mind  the 

20 


306  THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM. 

idea  of  an  exodus  with  the  idea  of  an  Israelitish 
jubilee;  for  it  was  a  jubilee  to  the  Mormons  to  be 
delivered  from  their  enemies  at  any  price. 

At  one  point  on  their  journey  the  citizens  of  a 
town  near  by  came  over  to  camp  to  invite  the 
"  Nauvoo  Band,"  under  Captain  Pitt,  to  come  to 
their  village  for  a  concert.  There  was  some  music 
left  in  the  brethren.  They  had  not  forgotten  how 
to  sing  the  "  songs  of  Zion,"  so  they  made  the  good 
folks  of  the  village  merry,  and  for  a  time  forgot 
their  own  sorrows. 

These  incidents  of  travel  were  varied  by  an  occa- 
sional birth  in  camp.  There  was  also  the  death  of 
a  lamented  lady  early  on  the  journey.  She  was  a 
gentle  wife  of  a  famous  Mormon  missionary,  Orson 
Spencer,  once  a  Baptist  minister  of  excellent  stand- 
ing. She  had  requested  the  brethren  to  take  her 
with  them.  She  would  not  be  left  behind.  Life 
was  too  far  exhausted  by  the  persecutions  to  survive 
the  exodus,  but  she  could  yet  have  the  honor  of 
dying  in  that  immortal  circumstance  of  her  people. 
Several  others  of  the  sisters  also  died  at  the  very 
starting.  Ah,  who  shall  fitly  picture  the  lofty  hero- 
ism of  the  Mormon  women ! 


CHAPTER  XXXII. 

CONTINUATION  OF  ELIZA  R.  SNOW'S  NARRATIVE AD- 
VENT OF  A  LITTLE  STRANGER  UNDER  ADVERSE 
CIRCUMSTANCES DORMITORY,  SITTING-ROOM,  OF- 
FICE, ETC.,  IN  A  BUGGY "THE  CAMP  " INTER- 
ESTING EPISODES  OF  THE  JOURNEY GRAPHIC  DE- 
SCRIPTION OF  THE  METHOD  OF  PROCEDURE 

MOUNT    PISGAH WINTER    QUARTERS. 

The  subject  and  action  of  the  exodus  thus  opened, 
we  shall  let  the  sisters  chiefly  tell  their  own  stories 
of  that  extraordinary  historic  period.  Eliza  R. 
Snow,  continuing  her  narrative,  says : 

"  We  had  been  preceded  by  thousands,  and  I  was 
informed  that  on  the  first  night  of  the  encampment 
nine  children  were  born  into  the  world,  and  from 
that  time,  as  we  journeyed  onward,  mothers  gave 
birth  to  offspring  under  almost  every  variety  of  cir- 
cumstances imaginable,  except  those  to  which  they 
had  been  accustomed;  some  in  tents,  others  in 
wagons — in  rain-storms  and  in  snow-storms.  I  heard 
of  one  birth  which  occurred  under  the  rude  shelter 
of  a  hut,  the  sides  of  which  were  formed  of  blankets 
fastened  to  poles  stuck  in  the  ground,  with  a  bark 
roof  through  which  the  rain  was  dripping.  Kind 
sisters  stood  holding  dishes  to  catch  the  water  as  it 


308  THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM. 

fell,  thus  protecting  the  new-comer  and  its  mother 
from  a  shower-bath  as  the  little  innocent  first  en- 
tered on  the  stage  of  human  life ;  and  through  faith 
in  the  great  ruler  of  events,  no  harm  resulted  to 
either. 

"  Let  it  be  remembered  that  the  mothers  of  these 
wilderness-born  babes  were  not  savages,  accustomed 
to  roam  the  forest  and  brave  the  storm  and  tempest — 
those  who  had  never  known  the  comforts  and  deli- 
cacies of  civilization  and  refinement.  They  were 
not  those  who,  in  the  wilds  of  nature,  nursed  their 
offspring  amid  reeds  and  rushes,  or  in  the  recesses 
of  rocky  caverns ;  most  of  them  were  born  and 
educated  in  the  Eastern  States — had  there  embraced 
the  gospel  as  taught  by  Jesus  and  his  apostles,  and, 
for  the  sake  of  their  religion,  had  gathered  with  the 
saints,  and  under  trying  circumstances  had  assisted, 
by  their  faith,  patience  and  energies,  in  making 
Nauvoo  what  its  name  indicates,  '  the  beautiful/ 
There  they  had  lovely  homes,  decorated  with  flowers 
and  enriched  with  choice  fruit  trees,  just  beginning 
to  yield  plentifully. 

"  To  these  homes,  without  lease  or  sale,  they  had 
just  bade  a  final  adieu,  and  with  what  little  of  their 
substance  could  be  packed  into  one,  two,  and  in 
some  instances,  three  wagons,  had  started  out,, 
desertward,  for — where  ?  To  this  question  the  only 
response  at  that  time  was,  God  knows. 

"  From  the  i3th  to  the  i8th  we  had  several  snow- 
storms and  very  freezing  weather,  which  bridged  the 
Mississippi  sufficiently  for  crossing  heavily  loaded 
wagons  on  the  ice.  We  were  on  timbered  land,  had 
plenty  of  wood  for  fuel,  and  the  men  rolled  heavy 


THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM.  309 

logs  together,  and  kept  large  fires  burning,  around 
the  bright  blaze  of  which,  when  not  necessarily 
otherwise  engaged,  they  warmed  themselves.  The 
women,  when  the  duties  of  cooking  and  its  et  ceteras 
did  not  prompt  them  out,  huddled  with  their  chil- 
dren into  wagons  and  carriages  for  protection  from 
the  chilling  breezes. 

"  My  dormitory,  sitting-room,  writing-office,  and 
frequently  dining-room,  was  the  buggy  in  which 
Sister  Markham,  her  little  son  David,  and  I,  rode. 
One  of  my  brother's  wives  had  one  of  the  old- 
fashioned  foot-stoves,  which  proved  very  useful. 
She  frequently  brought  it  to  me,  filled  with  live 
coals  from  one  of  those  mammoth  fires — a  kindness 
which  I  remember  with  gratitude ;  but  withal,  I 
frosted  my  feet  enough  to  occasion  inconvenience 
for  weeks  afterwards. 

"  When  all  who  designed  traveling  in  one  camp, 
which  numbered  about  five  thousand,  had  crossed 
the  river,  the  organization  of  the  whole  into  hun- 
dreds, fifties,  and  tens,  commenced,  and  afterwards 
was  completed  for  the  order  of  traveling ;  with  pio- 
neers, commissaries,  and  superintendents  to  each 
hundred,  and  captains  over  fifties  and  tens.  It  was 
impossible  for  us  to  move  in  a  body;  and  one  com- 
pany filed  off  after  another;  and,  on  the  first  of 
March  we  broke  camp  and  moved  out  four  or  five 
miles  and  put  up  for  the  night,  where  at  first  view 
the  prospect  was  dreary  enough.  It  was  nearly 
sunset — very  cold,  and  the  ground  covered  with 
snow  to  the  depth  of  four  or  five  inches  ;  but  with 
brave  hearts  and  strong  hands,  and  a  supply  of 
spades  and  shovels,  the  men  removed  the  snow,  and 


3IO  THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM. 

suddenly  transformed  the  bleak  desert  scene  into  a 
living  town,  with  cloth  houses,  log-heap  fires,  and  a 
multitude  of  cheerful  inhabitants.  The  next  day, 
with  weather  moderated,  the  remainder  of  the 
original  camp  arrived  with  the  Nauvoo  band,  and 
tented  on  the  bluff,  which  overlooked  our  cozy  dell, 
and  at  night  stirring  strains  of  music  filled  the 
atmosphere,  on  which  they  were  wafted  abroad,  and 
re-echoed  on  the  responsive  breezes. 

"  Lo !  a  mighty  host  of  people, 

Tented  on  the  western  shore 
Of  the  noble  Mississippi, 

They,  for  weeks,  were  crossing  o'er. 
At  the  last  day's  dawn  of  winter, 

Bound  with  frost  and  wrapped  with  snow, 
Hark !  the  sound  is,  '  Up,  and  onward ! 

Camp  of  Zion,  rise  and  go. ' 

"  All,  at  once,  is  life  and  motion — 

Trunks  and  beds  and  baggage  fly; 
Oxen  yoked  and  horses  harnessed — 

Tents,  rolled  up,  are  passing  by. 
Soon  the  carriage  wheels  are  rolling 

Onward  to  a  woodland  dell, 
Where,  at  sunset,  all  are  quartered — 

Camp  of  Israel,  all  is  well. 

"  Soon  the  tents  are  thickly  clustered — 

Neighboring  smokes  together  blend — 
Supper  served — the  hymns. are  chanted, 

And  the  evening  prayers  ascend. 
Last  of  all,  the  guards  are  stationed; 

Heavens  !  must  guards  be  serving  here  ? 
Who  would  harm  the  homeless  exiles  ? 

Camp  of  Zion,  never  fear. 

"  Where  is  freedom  ?     Where  is  justice  ? 

Both  have  from  the  nation  fled, 
And  the  blood  of  martyred  prophets 

Must  be  answered  on  its  head. 
Therefore,  '  To  your  tents,  O,  Israel,' 

Like  your  Father  Abram  dwell ; 
God  will  execute  his  purpose — 

Camp  of  Zion,  all  is  well. 


THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM.  311 

"  From  time  to  time,  companies  of  men  either 
volunteered  or  were  detailed  from  the  journeying 
camps,  and,  by  going  off  the  route,  obtained  jobs  of 
work  for  which  they  received  food  in  payment,  to 
meet  the  necessities  of  those  who  were  only  par- 
tially supplied,  and  also  grain  for  the  teams. 

"  As  we  passed  through  a  town  on  the  Des  Moines 
river,  the  inhabitants  manifested  as  much  curiosity 
as  though  they  were  viewing  a  traveling  menagerie 
of  wild  animals.  Their  levity  and  apparent  heart- 
lessness  was,  to  me,  proof  of  profound  ignorance. 
How  little  did  those  people  comprehend  our  move- 
ment, and  the  results  the  Almighty  had  in  view. 

"  On  the  2d  of  March  we  again  moved  forward — 
and  here  I  will  transcribe  from  my  journal :  '  March 
3d — Our  encampment  this  night  may  truly  be  re- 
corded as  a  miracle,  performed  on  natural,  and  yet 
peculiar  principles — a  city  reared  in  a  few  hours, 
and  everything  in  operation  that  actual  living  re- 
quired, and  many  additional  things,  which,  if  not 
extravagancies,  were  certainly  convenient.  The 
next  day,  great  numbers  of  the  people  of  the  adja- 
cent country  were  to  be  seen  patrolling  the  nameless 
streets  of  our  anonymous  city,  with  astonishment 
visible  in  their  countenances.  In  the  evening,  Sis- 
ter Markham  and  I  took  a  stroll  abroad,  and  in  the 
absence  of  names  to  the  streets,  and  numbers  to  the 
tents,  we  lost  our  way,  and  had  to  procure  a  guide 
to  pilot  us  home.' 

"  At  this  point  Brother  Markham  exchanged  our 
buggy  for  a  lumber  wagon,  and  in  performing  an  act 
of  generosity  to  others,  so  filled  it  as  to  give  Sister 
M.  and  me  barely  room  to  sit  in  front.  And  when 


312  THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM. 

we  started  again,  Sister  M.  and  I  were  seated  on  a 
chest  with  brass-kettle  and  soap-box  for  our  foot- 
stools, and  were  happy  in  being  as  comfortably 
situated  as  we  were  ;  and  well  we  might  be,  for  many 
of  our  sisters  walked  all  day,  rain  or  shine,  and  at 
night  prepared  suppers  for  their  families,  with  no 
sheltering  tents ;  and  then  made  their  beds  in  and 
under  wagons  that  contained  their  earthly  all.  How 
frequently,  with  intense  sympathy  and  admiration,  I 
watched  the  mother,  when,  forgetful  of  her  own 
fatigue  and  destitution,  she  took  unwearied  pains  to 
fix  up,  in  the  most  palatable  form,  the  allotted  por- 
tion of  food,  and  as  she  dealt  it  out  was  cheering 
the  hearts  of  her  homeless  children,  while,  as  I  truly 
believed,  her  own  was  lifted  to  God  in  fervent  prayer 
that  their  lives  might  be  preserved,  and,  above  all, 
that  they  might  honor  him  in  the  religion  for  which 
she  was  an  exile  from  the  home  once  sacred  to  her, 
for  the  sake  of  those  precious  ones  that  God  had 
committed  to  her  care.  We  were  living  on  rations— 
our  leaders  having  counseled  that  arrangement,  to 
prevent  an  improvident  use  of  provision  that  would 
result  in  extreme  destitution. 

"  We  were  traveling  in  the  season  significantly 
termed  *  between  hay  and  grass/  and  the  teams, 
feeding  mostly  on  browse,  wasted  in  flesh,  and  had 
but  little  strength  ;  and  it  was  painful,  at  times,  to 
see  the  poor  creatures  straining  every  joint  and 
ligature,  doing  their  utmost,  and  looking  the  very 
picture  of  discouragement.  When  crossing  the  low 
lands,  where  spring  rains  had  soaked  the  mellow 
soil,  they  frequently  stalled  on  level  ground,  and  we 
could  move  only  by  coupling  teams,  which  made 


THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM.  313 

very  slow  progress.-  From  the  effects  of  chills  and 
fever,  I  had  not  strength  to  walk  much,  or  I  should 
not  have  been  guilty  of  riding  after  those  half-fam- 
ished animals.  It  would  require  a  painter's  pencil 
and  skill  to  represent  our  encampment  when  we 
stopped,  as  we  frequently  did,  to  give  the  jaded 
teams  a  chance  to  recuperate,  and  us  a  chance  to 
straighten  up  matters  and  things  generally.  Here 
is  a  bit  from  my  journal : 

"  '  Our  town  of  yesterday  has  grown  to  a  city.  It 
is  laid  out  in  a  half  hollow  square,  fronting  east  and 
south  on  a  beautiful  level — with,  on  one  side,  an 
almost  perpendicular,  and  on  the  other,  a  gradual 
descent  into  a  deep  ravine,  which  defines  it  on  the 
west  and  north.  At  nine  o'clock  this  morning  I 
noticed  a  blacksmith's  shop  in  operation,  and  every- 
thing, everywhere,  indicating  real  life  and  local  in- 
dustry. Only  the  sick  are  idle ;  not  a  stove  or 
cooking  utensil  but  is  called  into  requisition ;  while 
tubs,  washboards,  etc.,  are  one-half  mile  distant, 
where  washing  is  being  done  by  the  side  of  a  stream 
of  water  beneath  the  shade  of  waving  branches.  I 
join  Sister  M.  in  the  washing  department,  and 
get  a  buggy  ride  to  the  scene  of  action,  where  the 
boys  have  the  fire  in  waiting — while  others  of  our 
mess  stop  in  the  city  and  do  the  general  work  of 
housekeeping ;  and  for  our  dinner  send  us  a  generous 
portion  of  their  immense  pot-pie,  designed  to  satisfy 
the  hunger  of  about  thirty  stomachs.  It  is  made 
of  rabbits,  squirrels,  quails,  prairie  chickens,  etc., 
trophies  of  the  success  of  our  hunters,  of  whom 
each  division  has  its  quota.  Thus  from  time  to 
time  we  are  supplied  with  fresh  meat,  which  does 


314  THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM. 

much  in  lengthening  out  our  flour.  Occasionally 
our  jobbers  take  bacon  in  payment,  but  what  I  have 
seen  of  that  article  is  so  rancid  that  nothing  short 
of  prospective  starvation  would  tempt  me  to  eat  it/ 

"  On  the  2Oth  of  April  we  arrived  at  the  head 
waters  of  the  Grand  River,  where  it  was  decided  to 
make  a  farming  establishment,  to  be  a  resting  and 
recruiting  place  for  the  saints  who  should  follow  us. 
Elders  Bent,  Benson  and  Fullmer  were  appointed 
to  preside  over  it. 

"  The  first  of  June  found  us  in  a  small  grove  on 
the  middle  fork  of  Grand  River.  This  place,  over 
which  Elders  Rich  and  Huntington  were  called  to 
preside,  was  named  Pisgah ;  and  from  this  point 
most  of  the  divisions  filed  off,  one  after  another. 
Colonel  Markham  appropriated  all  of  his  teams  and 
one  wagon  to  assist  the  twelve  and  others  to  pursue 
the  journey  westward,  while  he  returned  to  the 
States  for  a  fresh  supply.  Before  he  left,  we  were 
in  a  house  made  of  logs  laid  up  '  cob  fashion,'  with 
from  three  to  eight  inches  open  space  between 
them — roofed  by  stretching  a  tent  cloth  over  the 
ridgepole  and  fastening  it  at  the  bottom,  on  the  out- 
side, which,  with  blankets  and  carpets  put  up  on  the 
north  end,  as  a  shield  from  the  cold  wind,  made  us 
as  comfortable  as  possible. 

"  Companies  were  constantly  arriving  and  others 
departing;  while  those  who  intended  stopping  till 
the  next  spring  were  busily  engaged  in  making 
gardens,  and  otherwise  preparing  for  winter — shel- 
tering themselves  in  rude  log  huts  for  temporary 
residence. 

"  The  camps  were  strung  along  several  hundred 


THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM.  315 

miles  in  length  from  front  to  rear,  when,  about  the 
last  of  June,  one  of  the  most  remarkably  unreason- 
able requisitions  came  officially  to  President  Young, 
from  the  United  States  government,  demanding  five 
hundred  efficient  men  to  be  drawn  from  our  travel- 
ing camps,  to  enter  the  United  States  military 
service,  and  march  immediate|pto  California  and 
assist  in  the  war  with  Mexico.  Upon  the  receipt 
of  this  demand,  President  Young  and  Heber  C. 
Kimball,  with  due  loyalty  to  an  unprotective  gov- 
ernment, under  which  we  had  been  exiled  from  our 
homes,  started  immediately  from  their  respective 
divisions,  on  horseback,  calling  for  volunteers,  from 
one  extremity  of  our  line  to  the  other;  and  in  an 
almost  incredibly  short  time  the  five  hundred  men, 
who  constituted  the  celebrated  '  Mormon  Battalion/ 
were  under  marching  orders,  commanded  by  CoL 
Allen,  of  the  United  States  Infantry.  It  was  our 
'  country's  call/  and  the  question,  '  Can  we  spare  five 
hundred  of  our  most  able-bodied  men  ?'  was  not 
asked.  But  it  was  a  heavy  tax — a  cruel  draft — one 
which  imposed  accumulated  burdens  on  those  who 
remained,  especially  our  women,  who  were  under 
the  necessity  of  driving  their  own  teams  from  the 
several  points  from  which  their  husbands  and  sons 
left,  to  the  Salt  Lake  Valley ;  and  some  of  them 
walked  the  whole  of  that  tedious  distance. 

On  the  2d  of  August  Brother  Markham  arrived 
from  the  East  with  teams  ;  and  on  the  igth  we  bade 
good-bye  to  Mount  Pisgah.  Brother  M.  was  minus 
one  teamster,  and  as  Mrs.  M.  and  I  were  to  consti- 
tute the  occupants  of  one  wagon,  with  a  gentle  yoke 
of  oxen,  she  proposed  to  drive.  But,  soon  after  we 


316  THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM. 

started,  she  was  taken  sick,  and,  of  course,  the 
driving  fell  to  me.  Had  it  been  a  horse-team  I 
should  have  been  amply  qualified,  but  driving  oxen 
was  entirely  a  new  business;  however,  I  took  the 
whip  and  very  soon  learned  to  '  haw  and  gee,'  and 
acquitted  myself,  as  teamster,  quite  honorably,  driv- 
ing most  of  the  way  to  winter  quarters.  The  cattle 
were  so  well  trained  that  I  could  sit  and  drive.  At 
best,  however,  it  was  fatiguing — the  family  being  all 
sick  by  turns,  and  at  times  I  had  to  cook,  as  well  as 
nurse  the  sick ;  all  of  which  I  was  thankful  for 
strength  to  perform. 

"  On  the  27th  we  crossed  the  Missouri  at  Council 
Bluffs,  and  the  next  day  came  up  with  the  general 
camp  at  winter  quarters.  From  exposure  and  hard- 
ship I  was  taken  sick  soon  after  with  a  slow  fever, 
that  terminated  in  chills  and  fever,  and  as  I  lay  sick 
in  my  wagon,  where  my  bed  was  exposed  to  heavy 
autumnal  rains,  and  sometimes  wet  nearly  from 
head  to  foot,  I  realized  that  I  was  near  the  gate  of 
death  ;  but  my  trust  was  in  God,  and  his  power  pre- 
served me.  Many  were  sick  around  us,  and  no\one 
could  be  properly  cared  for  under  the  circumstances. 
Although,  as  before  stated,  I  was  exposed  to  the 
heavy  rains  while  in  the  wagon,  worse  was  yet  to 
come. 

"  On  the  28th  a  company,  starting  out  for  sup- 
plies, required  the  wagon  that  Sister  M.  and  I  had 
occupied  ;  and  the  log  house  we  moved  into  was 
but  partly  chinked  and  mudded,  leaving  large  cre- 
vices for  the  wind — then  cold  and  blustering.  This 
hastily-erected  hut  was  roofed  on  one  side,  with 
a  tent-cloth  thrown  over  the  other,  and,  withal, 


THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM.  317 

was  minus  a  chimney.  A  fire,  which  was  built  on 
one  side,  filled  the  house  with  smoke  until  it  became 
unendurable.  Sister  Markham  had  partially  recov- 
ered from  her  illness,  but  was  quite  feeble.  I  was 
not  able  to  sit  up  much,  and,  under  those  circum- 
stances, not  at  all,  for  the  fire  had  to  be  dispensed 
with.  Our  cooking  was  done  out  of  doors  until 
after  the  middle  of  November,  when  a  chimney 
was  made,  the  house  enclosed,  and  other  improve- 
ments added,  which  we  were  prepared  to  appre- 
ciate. 

"  About  the  last  of  December  I  received  the  sad 
news  of  the  death  of  my  mother.  She  had  lived  to 
a  good  age,  and  had  been  a  patient  participator  in 
the  scenes  of  suffering  consequent  on  the  persecu- 
tions of  the  saints.  She  sleeps  in  peace;  and  her 
grave,  and  that  of  my  father,  whose  death  preceded 
hers  less  than  a  year,  are  side  by  side,  in  Walnut 
Grove,  Knox  county,  111. 

"  At  winter  quarters  our  extensive  encampment 
was  divided  into  wards,  and  so  organized  that  meet- 
ings for  worship  were  attended  in  the  several  wards. 
A  general  order  was  established  and  cheerfully  car- 
ried out,  that  each  able-bodied  man  should  either 
give  the  labor  of  each  tenth  day,  or  contribute  an 
equivalent,  for  the  support  of  the  destitute,  and  to 
aid  those  families  whose  men  were  in  the  battalion, 
and  those  who  were  widows  indeed. 

"  Our  exposures  and  privations  caused  much  sick- 
ness, and  sickness  increased  destitution ;  but  in  the 
midst  of  all  this,  we  enjoyed  a  great  portion  of  the 
spirit  of  God,  and  many  seasons  of  refreshing  from 


318,  THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM. 

his  presence,  with  rich  manifestations  of  the  gifts 
and  power  of  the  gospel.  My  life,  as  well  as  the 
lives  of  many  others,  was  preserved  by  the  power 
of  God,  through  faith  in  him,  and  not  on  natural 
principles  as  comprehended  by  man. " 


CHAPTER  XXXIII. 

BATHSHEBA  W.  SxMITH's  STORY  OF  THE  LAST  DAYS  OF 

NAUVOO SHE  RECEIVES  CELESTIAL  MARRIAGE  AND 

GIVES  HER   HUSBAND    FIVE  "HONORABLE    YOUNG 
WOMEN"  AS   WIVES  —  HER  DESCRIPTION  OF    THE 

EXODUS  AND  JOURNEY  TO  WINTER   QUARTERS 

DEATH  OF    ONE   OF   THE    WIVES SISTER  HORNE 

AGAIN. 

Sister  Bathsheba  W.  Smith's  story  of  the  last 
days  of  Nauvoo,  and  the  introduction  of  polygamy, 
and  also  her  graphic  detail  of  the  exodus,  will  be  of 
interest  at  this  point.  She  says : 

"  Immediately  after  my  marriage,  my  husband,  as 
"  one  of  the  apostles  of  the  Church,  started  on  a  mis- 
"sion  to  some  of  the  Eastern  States. 

"In  the  year  1840  he  was  in  England,  and  again 
"went  East  on  mission  in  1843,  going  as  far  as  Bos- 
"ton,  Mass.,  preaching  and  attending  conferences 
"by  the  way.  He  returned  in  the  fall ;  soon  after 
"which,  we  were  blessed  by  receiving  our  endow- 
"  ments,  and  were  sealed  under  the  holy  law  of 
"celestial  marriage.  I  heard  the  prophet  Joseph 
"  charge  the  twelve  with  the  duty  and  responsibility 
"of  administering  the  ordinances  of  endowments 
"  and  sealing  for  the  living  and  the  dead.  I  met 


32O  THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM. 

"  many  times  with  Brother  Joseph  and  others  who 
"  had  received  their  endowments,  in  company  with 
"  my  husband,  in  an  upper  room  dedicated  for  that 
"  purpose,  and  prayed  with  them  repeatedly  in  those 
"  meetings.  I  heard  the  prophet  give  instructions 
"  concerning  plural  marriage ;  he  counseled  the  sis- 
"  ters  not  to  trouble  themselves  in  consequence  of 
"  it,  that  all  would  be  right,  and  the  result  would  be 
"  for  their  glory  and  exaltation. 

"On  the  5th  of  May,  1844,  mv  husband  again 
"  started  on  mission,  and,  after  he  left,  a  terrible  per- 
"secution  was  commenced  in  the  city  of  Nauvoo, 
"which  brought  about  the  barbarous  murder  of  our 
"beloved  prophet,  and  his  brother,  the  patriarch. 
"  The  death  of  these  men  of  God  caused  a  general 
"  mourning  which  I  cannot  describe.  My  husband 
"returned  about  the  first  of  August,  and  soon  the 
"  rest  of  the  twelve  returned.  The  times  were  very 
"  exciting,  but  under  the  wise  counsels  of  the  twelve, 
"and  others,  the  excitement  abated.  The  temple 
"was  so  far  finished  in  the  fall  of  1845,  that  thou- 
"  sands  received  their  endowments.  I  officiated  for 
"  some  time  as  priestess. 

"  Being  thoroughly  convinced,  as  well  as  my  hus- 
"  band,  that  the  doctrine  of  plurality  of  wives  was 
"  from  God,  and  having  a  fixed  determination  to 
"  attain  to  celestial  glory,  I  felt  to  embrace  the  whole 
"gospel,  and  believing  that  it  was  for  my  husband's 
"  exaltation  that  he  should  obey  the  revelation  on 
"celestial  marriage,  that  he  might  attain  to  king- 
"  doms,  thrones,  principalities  and  powers,  firmly 
"believing  that  I  should  participate  with  him  in  all 
"his  blessings,  glory  and  honor;  accordingly,  within 


THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM.  32! 

"  the  last  year,  like  Sarah  of  old,  I  had  given  to  my 
"  husband  five  wives,  good,  virtuous,  honorable  young 
"  women.  They  all  had  their  home  with  us  ;  I  being 
"  proud  of  my  husband,  and  loving  him  very  much, 
"knowing  him  to  be  a  man  of  God,  and  believing 
"  he  would  not  love  them  less  because  he  loved  me 
"  more  for  doing  this.  I  had  joy  in  having  a  testi- 
"  mony  that  what  I  had  done  was  acceptable  to  my 
"  Father  in  Heaven. 

"The  fall  of  1845  found  Nauvoo,  as  it  were,  one 
"  vast  mechanic  shop,  as  nearly  every  family  was 
"  engaged  in  making  wagons.  Our  parlor  was  used 
"  as  a  paint-shop  in  which  to  paint  wagons.  All 
"  were  making  preparations  to  leave  the  ensuing 
"winter.  On  the  9th  of  February,  1846,  in  com- 
"  pany  with  many  others,  my  husband  took  me  and 
"  my  two  children,  and  some  of  the  other  members 
"  of  his  family  (the  remainder  to  follow  as  soon  as 
"  the  weather  would  permit),  and  we  crossed  the 
"  Mississippi,  to  seek  a  home  in  the  wilderness. 
"  Thus  we  left  a  comfortable  home,  the  accumula- 
"  tion  and  labor  of  four  years,  taking  with  us  but  a 
41  few  things,  such  as  clothing,  bedding  and  provi- 
"  sions,  leaving  everything  else  for  our  enemies. 
"  We  were  obliged  to  stay  in  camp  for  a  few  weeks, 
"  on  Sugar  Creek,  because  of  the  weather  being  very 
"  cold.  The  Mississippi  froze  over  so  that  hundreds 
"  of  families  crossed  on  the  ice.  As  soon  as  the 
"  weather  permitted,  we  moved  on  West.  I  will  not 
"  try  to  describe  how  we  traveled  through  storms  of 
"  snow,  wind  and  rain — how  roads  had  to  be  made, 
"bridges  built,  and  rafts  constructed — how  our  poor 
"animals  had  to  drag  on,  day  after  day,  with  scanty 

21 


322  THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM. 

"  feed — nor  how  our  camps  suffered  from  poverty, 
"  sickness  and  death.  We  were  consoled  in  the 
"  midst  of  these  hardships  by  seeing  the  power  of 
"  God  manifested  through  the  laying  on  of  the  hands 
"  of  the  elders,  causing  the  sick  to  be  healed  and 
"  the  lame  to  walk.  The  Lord  was  with  us,  and  his 
"power  was  made  manifest  daily.  At  the  head  of  a 
"  slough  where  we  camped  several  days,  we  were 
"  visited  by  the  Mus-Quaw-ke  band  of  I  ndians,  headed 
"by  Pow-Sheek,  a  stately  looking  man,  wearing  a 
"  necklace  of  bear's  claws.  They  were  fierce  look- 
"  ing  men,  decorated  as  they  were  for  war;  bu£  they 
"  manifested  a  friendly  spirit,  and  traded  with  us. 
"  The  next  move  of  our  camp  was  to  the  Missouri 
"  river  bank.  The  cattle  were  made  to  swim,  and 
"our  wagons  were  taken  over  on  a  flat-boat  that  our 
"people  had  built.  We  made  two  encampments 
"  after  we  crossed  the  river,  when  we  found  it  too 
"late  to  proceed  farther  that  year.  The  last  en- 
"  campment  was  named  Cutler's  Park.  The  camps 
"  contained  about  one  thousand  wagons.  Our  men 
"went  to  work  cutting  and  stacking  the  coarse 
"  prairie  grass  for  hay.  The  site  for  our  winter 
44  quarters  was  selected  and  surveyed,  and  during 
"  the  fall  and  winter  some  seven  hundred  log-cabins 
"  were  built ;  also  about  one  hundred  and  fifty  dug- 
"  outs  or  caves,  which  are  cabins  half  under  ground. 
"This  was  on  the  Missouri  river,  about  six  miles 
"  above  the  present  city  of  Omaha.  My  husband 
"built  four  cabins  and  a  dug-out.  Our  chimnies 
"  were  made  of  sod,  cut  with  a  spade  in  the  form  of 
"a  brick;  clay  was  pounded  in  to  make  our  fire- 
"  places  and  hearths.  In  our  travels  the  winds  had 


THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM.  323 

"literally  blown  our  tent  to  pieces,  so  that  we 
41  were  glad  to  get  into  cabins.  The  most  of  the 
"roofs  were  made  of  timber,  coyered  with  clay. 
"  The  floors  were  split  and  hewed  puncheon ;  the 
"  doors  were  generally  made  of  the  same  material, 
"  of  cottonwood  and  linn.  Many  houses  were  cov- 
"ered  with  oak-shakes,  fastened  on  with  weight- 
"  poles.  A  few  were  covered  with  shingles.  A  log 
41  meeting-house  was  built,  about  twenty-four  by 
41  forty  feet,  and  the  hewn  floor  was  frequently  used 
41  for  dancing.  A  grist-mill  was  built  and  run  by 
"  water-power,  and  in  addition  to  this,  several  horse- 
"  mills  and  hand-mills  were  used  to  grind  corn. 

"  Our  scanty  and  only  supply  of  bread,  consisting 
"  generally  of  corn,  was  mostly  brought  from  Mis- 
"souri,  a  distance  of  some  one  hundred  and  fifty 
"  miles,  where  it  fortunately  was  plentiful  and  cheap. 
41  The  camp  having  been  deprived  of  vegetable  food 
"  the  past  year,  many  were  attacked  with  scurvy. 
41  The  exposure,  together  with  the  want  of  necessary 
41  comforts,  caused  fevers  and  ague,  and  affections  of 
44  the  lungs.  Our  own  family  were  not  exempt. 
41  Nancy  Clement,  one  of  my  husband's  wives,  died; 
"  also  her  child.  She  was  a  woman  of  excellent  dis- 
44  position,  and  died  in  full  faith  in  the  gospel." 

An  incident  or  two  of  Sister  Home's  story  may 
very  properly  accompany  the  foregoing.  She  says : 

44  I  took  my  last  look,  on  earth,  of  Joseph  and 
41  Hyrum  Smith.  May  I  never  experience  another 
44  day  similar  to  that !  I  do  not  wish  to  recall  the 
"  scene  but  for  a  moment.  That  terrible  martyrdom 
"  deeply  scarred  the  hearts  and  bewildered  the  senses 
"  of  all  our  people.  We  could  scarcely  realize  the 


324  THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM. 

"  awful  event,  except  in  the  agony  of  our  feelings ; 
"  nor  comprehend  the  dark  hour,  beyond  the  solemn 
"loneliness  which  pervaded  the  city  and  made  the 
"  void  in  our  stricken  hearts  still  more  terrible  to 
"  bear.  For  the  moment  the  sun  of  our  life  had  set. 
"  The  majority  of  the  apostles  were  far  from  home, 
"  and  we  could  do  no  more  than  wake  the  indigna- 
"  tion  of  heaven  against  the  murderers  by  our  lamen- 
"  tations,  and  weep  and  pray  for  divine  support  in 
"  that  awful  hour. 

"  Two  years  had  not  passed  away  after  the  mar- 
"  tyrdom,  before  the  saints  were  forced  by  their 
"  enemies  to  hasteri  their  flight  from  Nauvoo." 

With  the  Camp  of  Israel,  Sister  Home  and  family 
journeyed  to  winter  quarters,  sharing  the  common 
experience  of  the  saints,  so  well  described  by  those 
who  have  preceded  her. 


CHAPTER  XXXIV. 

THE    STORY    OF     THE     HUNTINGTON    SISTERS    CONTIN- 
UED— ZINA  D.  YOUNG'S  PATHETIC  PICTURE  OF  THE 

MARTYRDOM JOSEPH^  MANTLE  FALLS  UPON  BRIG- 
HAM THE    EXODUS A  BIRTH    ON  THE    BANKS    OF 

THE  CHARITON DEATH  OF    FATHER   HUNTINGTON. 

"  It  was  June  27th,  1844,"  writes  Zina  D.  Young 
(one  of  the  Huntington  sisters,  with  whom  the 
reader  is  familiar),  "  and  it  was  rumored  that  Joseph 
"  was  expected  in  from  Carthage.  I  did  not  know 
"  to  the  contrary  until  I  saw  the  Governor  and  his 
"  guards  descending  the  hill  by  the  temple,  a  short 
"  distance  from  my  house.  Their  swords  glistened 
"  in  the  sun,  and  their  appearance  startled  me,  though 
"  I  knew  not  what  it  foreboded.  I  exclaimed  to  a 
41  neighbor  who  was  with  me,  '  What  is  the  trouble  ! 
"  It  seems  to  me  that  the  trees  and  the  grass  are  in 
"  mourning !'  A  fearful  silence  pervaded  the  city, 
"  and  after  the  shades  of  night  gathered  around  us 
"  it  was  thick  darkness.  The  lightnings  flashed,  the 
"  cattle  bellowed,  the  dogs  barked,  and  the  elements 
"wailed.  What  a  terrible  night  that  was  to  the 
"  saints,  yet  we  knew  nothing  of  the  dark  tragedy 
"  which  had  been  enacted  by  the  assassins  at  Car- 
u  thage. 


326  THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM. 

"  The  morning  dawned;  the  sad  news  came;  but 
"as  yet  I  had  not  heard  of  the  terrible  event.  I 
"started  to  go  to  Mother  Smith's,  on  an  errand. 
"As  I  approached  I  saw  men  gathered  around  the 
"  door  of  the  mansion.  A  few  rods  from  the  house 
"  I  met  Jesse  P.  Harmon.  *  Have  you  heard  the 
"news?'  he  asked.  'What  news?'  I  inquired. 
"'Joseph  and  Hyrum  are  dead!'  Had  I  believed 
"  it,  I  could  not  have  walked  any  farther.  I  has- 
"  tened  to  my  brother  Dimick.  He  was  sitting  in 
"his  house,  mourning  and  weeping  aloud  as  only 
"strong  men  can  weep.  All  was  confirmed  in  a 
"moment.  My  pen  cannot  utter  my  grief  nor  de- 
"  scribe  my  horror.  But  after  awhile  a  change  came, 
"as  though  the  released  spirits  of  the  departed 
"sought  to  comfort  us  in  that  hour  of  dreadful 
"  bereavement. 

"  '  The  healer  was  there,  pouring  balm  on  my  heart, 

And  wiping  the  tears  from  my  eyes; 
He  was  binding  the  chain  that  was  broken  in  twain, 
And  fastening  it  firm  in  the  skies. ' 

"  Never  can  it  be  told  in  words  what  the  saints 
"  suffered  in  those  days  of  trial ;  but  the  sweet  spirit— 
"  the  comforter — did  not  forsake  them  ;  and  when 
'*  the  twelve  returned,  the  mantle  of  Joseph  fell  upon 
"  Brigham. 

"  When  I  approached  the  stand  (on  the  occasion 
"when  Sidney  Rigdon  was  striving  for  the  guardian- 
"ship  of  the  Church),  President  Young  was  speak- 
"ing.  It  was  the  voice  of  Joseph  Smith — not  that 
"  of  Brigham  Young.  His  very  person  was  changed. 
"  The  mantle  was  truly  given  to  another.  There 
"  was  no  doubting  this  in  the  minds  of  that  vast 


THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM.  327 

"  assembly.  All  witnessed  the  transfiguration,  and 
"  even  to-day  thousands  bear  testimony  thereof.  I 
"closed  my  eyes.  I  could  have  exclaimed,  I  know 
"  that  is  Joseph  Smith's  voice !  Yet  I  knew  he  had 
"  gone.  But  the  same  spirit  was  with  the  people ; 
"  the  comforter  remained. 

"  The  building  of  the  temple  was  hurried  on. 
"  The  saints  did  not  slacken  their  energies.  They 
"  had  a  work  to  do  in  that  temple  for  their  dead, 
"  and  blessings  to  obtain  for  themselves.  They  had 
"learned  from  the  prophet  Joseph  the  meaning  vof 
"  Paul's  words,  '  Why  then  are  ye  baptized  for  the 
"  dead,  if  the  dead  rise  not  at  all  ?' 

"  Passing  on  to  the  exodus.  My  family  were 
"  informed  that  we  were  to  leave  with  the  first  com- 
"  pany.  So  on  the  gth  of  February,  1846,  on  a  clear 
"  cold  day,  we  left  our  home  at  Nauvoo.  All  that 
"  we  possessed  was  now  in  our  wagon.  Many  of 
"  our  things  remained  in  the  house,  unsold,  for  most 
"  of  our  neighbors  were,  like  ourselves,  on  the  wing. 

"  Arrived  at  Sugar  Creek,  we  there  first  saw  who 
"  were  the  brave,  the  good,  the  self-sacrificing.  Here 
"we  had  now  openly  the  first  examples  of  noble- 
"  minded,  virtuous  women,  bravely  commencing  to 
"  live  in  the  newly-revealed  order  of  celestial  mar- 
"  riage. 

"  'Women  ;  this  is  my  husband's  wife  !' 

"  Here,  at  length,  we  could  give  this  introduction, 
"  without  fear  of  reproach,  or  violation  of  man-made 
"laws,  seeing  we  were  bound  for  the  refuge  of  the 
"  Rocky  Mountains,  where  no  Gentile  society  ex- 
"  isted,  to  ask  of  Israel,  '  What  doest  thou  ?' 

"  President  Young  arrived  on  Sugar  Creek,  and  at 


328  THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM. 

"  once  commenced  to  organize  the  camp.  George 
"  A.  Smith  was  the  captain  of  our  company  of  fifty.* 
"  I  will  pass  over  the  tedious  journey  to  the 
"  Chariton  river,  in  the  face  of  the  fierce  winds  of 
"  departing  winter,  and  amid  rains  that  fairly  inun- 
"  dated  the  land.  By  day  we  literally  waded  through 
"  mud  and  water,  and  at  night  camped  in  anything 
"  but  pleasant  places. 

"  On  the  bank  of  the  Chariton  an  incident  oc- 
"  curred  ever  eventful  in  the  life  of  woman.  I  had 
"been  told  in  the  temple  that  I  should  acknowledge ' 
"  God  even  in  a  miracle  in  my  deliverance  in 
"woman's  hour  of  trouble,  which  hour  had  now 
"  come.  We  had  traveled  one  morning  about  five 
"  miles,  when  I  called  for  a  halt  in  our  inarch.  There 
"was  but  one  person  with  me — Mother  Lyman,  the 
"  aunt  of  George  A.  Smith ;  and  there  on  the  bank 
"  of  the  Chariton  I  was  delivered  of  a  fine  son.  On 
"  the  morning  of  the  23d,  Mother  Lyman  gave  me 
"  a  cup  of  coffee  and  a  biscuit.  What  a  luxury  for 
"  special  remembrance !  Occasionally  the  wagon 
"  had  to  be  stopped,  that  I  might  take  breath.  Thus 
"  I  journeyed  on.  But  I  did  not  mind  the  hardship 
"  of  my  situation,  for  my  life  had  been  preserved, 
"  and  my  babe  seemed  so  beautiful. 

"  We  reached  Mount  Pisgah  in  May.  I  was  now 
"  with  my  father,  who  had  been  appointed  to  preside 
"  over  this  temporary  settlement  of  the  saints.  But 
"  an  unlooked  for  event  soon  came.  One  evening 
"  Parley  P.  Pratt  arrived,  bringing  the  word  from 
"  headquarters  that  the  Mormon  battalion  must  be 
"  raised  in  compliance  with  the  requisition  of  the 
"  government  upon  our  people.  And  what  did  this 


THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM.  329 

"  news  personally  amount  to,  to  me  ?  That  I  had 
"only  my  father  to  look  after  me  now;  for  I  had 
"  parted  from  my  husband ;  my  eldest  brother, 
"  Dimick  Huntington,  with  his  family,  had  gone  into 
"  the  battalion,  and  every  man  who  could  be  spared 
"was  also  enlisted.  It  was  impossible  for  me  to  go 
"  on  to  winter  quarters,  so  I  tarried  at  Mount  Pisgah 
"  with  my  father. 

"  But,  alas  !  a  still  greater  trial  awaited  me  !  The 
"call  for  the  battalion  had  left  many  destitute. 
"  They  had  to  live  in  wagons.  But  worse  than  des- 
"  titution  stared  us  in  the  face.  Sickness  came  upon 
"  us  and  death  invaded  our  camp.  Sickness  was  so 
"  prevalent  and  deaths  so  frequent  that  enough  help 
"could  not  be  had  to  make  coffins,  and  many  of  the 
"dead  were  wrapped  in  their  grave-clothes  and 
"  buried  with  split  logs  at  the  bottom  of  the  grave 
"  and  brush  at  the  sides,  that  being  all  that  could 
"  be  done  for  them  by  their  mourning  friends.  Too 
"  soon  it  became  my  turn  to  mourn.  My  father  was 
"taken  sick,  and  in  eighteen  days  he  died.  Just 
"  before  he  left  us  for  his  better  home  he  raised  him- 
"  self  upon  his  elbow,  and  said :  '  Man  is  like  the 
"  flower  or  the  grass — cut  down  in  an  hour !  Father, 
"  unto  thee  do  I  commend  my  spirit  !'  This  said, 
"  he  sweetly  went  to  rest  with  the  just,  a  martyr  for 
"  the  truth ;  for,  like  my  dear  mother,  who  died  in 
"  the  expulsion  from  Missouri,  he  died  in  the  expul- 
41  sion  from  Nauvoo.  Sad  was  my  heart.  I  alone 
"of  all  his  children  was  there  to  mourn. 

"  It  was  a  sad  day  at  Mount  Pisgah,  when  my 
"  father  was  buried.  The  poor  and  needy  had  lost 
"  a  friend — the  kingdom  of  God  a  faithful  ser- 


33O  THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM. 

"vant.  There  upon  the  hillside  was  his  resting 
'place.  The  graveyard  was  so  near  that  I  could 
'•hear  the  wolves  howling  as  they  visited  the  spot; 
"  those  hungry  monsters,  who  fain  would  have  un- 
"  sepulchred  those  sacred  bones ! 

"  Those  days  of  trial  and  grief  were  succeeded  by 
"  my  journey  to  winter  quarters,  where  in  due  time 
"  I  arrived,  and  was  welcomed  by  President  Young 
"  into  his  family." 


CHAPTER  XXXV. 

THE  PIONEERS THE    PIONEER   COMPANIES    THAT   FOL- 
LOWED  METHOD     OF     THE     MARCH MRS.     HORNE 

ON    THE    PLAINS THE    EMIGRANT'S   POST-OFFICE 

PENTECOSTS    BY  THE  WAY DEATH    AS  THEY  JOUR- 
NEYED  A  FEAST  IN  THE  DESERT "AUNT  LOUISA" 

AGAIN. 

Very  properly  President  Young  and  a  chosen 
cohort  of  apostles  and  elders  formed  the  band  of 
pioneers  who  bore  the  standard  of  their  people  to 
the  Rocky  Mountains.  On  the  ;th  of  April,  1847, 
that  famous  company  left  winter  quarters  in  search 
of  another  Zion  and  gathering  place.  Three  women 
only  went  with  them.  These  must  be  honored  with 
a  lasting  record.  They  were  Clara  Decker,  one  of 
the  wives  of  Brigham  Young;  her  mother,  and  Ellen 
Sanders,  one  of  the  wives  of  H.  C.  Kimball. 

Yet  the  sisters  as  a  mass  were  scarcely  less  the 
co-pioneers  of  that  apostolic  band,  for  they  followed 
in  companies  close  upon  its  track.  It  was  with 
them  faith,  not  sight.  They  continued  their  pil- 
grimage to  the  West  early  in  June.  On  the  i2thr 
Captain  Jedediah  M.  Grant's  company  moved  out 
in  the  advance. 

"  After  we  started  out  from  winter  quarters,"  says 


332  THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM. 

Sister  Eliza  Snow,  "three  or  four  days  were  con- 
sumed in  maneuvering  and  making  a  good  ready,  and 
then,  at  an  appointed  place  for  rendezvous,  a  general 
meeting  was  held  around  a  liberty-pole  erected  for 
the  purpose,  and  an  organization  effected,  similar 
to  that  entered  into  after  leaving  Nauvoo. 

"  As  we  moved  forward,  one  division  after  another, 
sometimes  in  fifties,  sometimes  in  tens,  but  seldom 
traveling'  in  hundreds,  we  passed  and  repassed  each 
other,  but  at  night  kept  as  nearly  compact  as  cir- 
cumstances would  admit,  especially  when  in  the 
Indian  country.  East  of  Fort  Laramie  many  of 
the  Sioux  Nation  mixed  with  our  traveling  camps, 
on  their  way  to  the  fort,  where  a  national  council 
was  in  session.  We  had  no  other  trouble  with 
them  than  the  loss  of  a  few  cooking  utensils,  which, 
when  unobserved,  they  lightly  fingered ;  except  in 
one  instance,  when  our  ten  had  been  left  in  the  rear 
to  repair  a  broken  wagon,  until  late  in  the  evening. 
It  was  bright  moonlight,  and  as  we  were  passing 
one  of  their  encampments,  they  formed  in  a  line 
closely  by  the  roadside,  and  when  our  teams  passed, 
they  simultaneously  shook  their  blankets  vigorously 
on  purpose  to  frighten  the  teams  and  cause  a  stam- 
pede, probably  with  the  same  object  in  view  as  white 
robbers  have  in  ditching  railroad  trains.  However, 
no  serious  injury  occurred,  although  the  animals 
were  dreadfully  frightened/* 

Sister  Home  thus  relates  some  incidents  of  the 
journey : 

"  Apostle  John  Taylor  traveled  in  the  company 
"  that  my  family  was  with,  Bishop  Hunter  being  cap- 
tain of  the  company  of  one  hundred,  and  Bishop 


THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM.  333 

*  Foutz  and  my  husband  being  captains  of  fifties. 
"  The  officers  proposed,  for  safety  in  traveling 
"through  the  Indian  country,  that  the  two  fifties 
"travel  side  by  side,  which  was  agreed  to,  Bishop 
"  Foutz's  fifty  taking  the  north  side.  For  some  days 
"  the  wind  blew  from  the  south  with  considerable 
"  force,  covering  the  fifty  on  the  north  with  dust 
"  from  our  wagons.  This  continued  for  two  weeks  ; 
"  it  was  then  agreed  that  the  two  companies  should 
"  shift  positions  in  order  to  give  us  our  fair  propor- 
"  tion  of  the  dust ;  but  in  a  day  or  two  afterwards 
"  the  wind  shifted  to  the  north,  thus  driving  the  dust 
"on  to  the  same  company  as  before.  After  having 
"  some  good  natured  badinage  over  the  circumstance, 
"  our  company  changed  with  the  unfortunates  and 
"  took  its  share  of  the  dust. 

"  One  day  a  company  of  Indians  met  us  and  mani- 
"  fested  a  desire  to  trade,  which  we  were  glad  to  do ; 
"  but  as  the  brethren  were  exchanging  corn  for  buf- 
"  falo  robes,  the  squaws  were  quietly  stealing  every- 
"  thing  they  could  lay  hands  upon.  Many  bake- 
"  kettles,  skillets  and  frying-pans  were  missing  when 
"  we  halted  that  night. 

"  As  our  wagons  were  standing  while  the  trading 

o  o  o 

"was  going  on,  one  Indian  took  a  great  fancy  to  my 
"  little  girl,  who  was  sitting  on  my  knee,  and  wanted 
"  to  buy  her,  offering  me  a  pony.  I  told  him  '  no 
"trade.'  He  then  brought  another  pony,  and  still 
"  another,  but  I  told  him  no ;  so  he  brought  the 
"fourth,  and  gave  me  to  understand  that  they  were 
"all  good,  and  that  the  last  one  was  especially  good 
"for  chasing  buffalo.  The  situation  was  becoming 
"  decidedly  embarrassing,  when  several  more  wagons 


334  THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM. 

"  drew  near,  dispersing*  the  crowd  of  Indians  that 
"  had  gathered  around  me,  and  attracting  the  atten- 
tion of  my  persistent  patron." 

The  emigrant's  post-offices  are  thus  spoken  of  by 
Sister  Eliza: 

"  Much  of  the  time  we  were  on  an  untrodden 
way ;  but  when  we  came  on  the  track  of  the  pio- 
neers, as  we  occasionally  did,  and  read  the  date  of 
their  presence,  with  an  'all  well'  accompaniment, on 
a  bleached  buffalo  skull,  we  had  a  general  time  of 
rejoicing." 

For  years  those  bleached  buffalo  skulls  were  mad 2 
the  news  agents  of  the  Mormon  emigrations.  The 
morning  newspaper  of  to-day  is  not  read  with  so 
much  eagerness  as  were  those  dry  bones  on  the 
plains,  telling  of  family  and  friends  gone  before. 

It  was  a  long,  tedious  journey  to  those  pioneer 
sisters,  yet  they  had  pentecosts  even  on  their  pil- 
grimage. Again  quoting  from  Sister  Eliza : 

"Many  were  the  moon  and  starlight  evenings 
when,  as  we  circled  around  the  blazing  fire,  and  sang 
our  hymns  of  devotion,  and  songs  of  praise  to  him 
who  knows  the  secrets  of  all  hearts,  the  sound  of 
our  united  voices  reverberated  from  hill  to  hill,  and 
echoing  through  the  silent  expanse,  seemed  to  fill 
the  vast  concave  above,  while  the  glory  of  God 
seemed  to  rest  on  all  around.  Even  now  while  I 
write,  the  remembrance  of  those  sacredly  romantic 
and  vivifying  scenes  calls  them  up  afresh,  and  arouses 
a  feeling  of  response  that  language  is  inadequate  to 
express." 

But  there  were  dark  days  also.  The  story  changes 
to  sickness  in  the  wagons  and  death  by  the  wayside : 


THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM.  335 

"  Death,"  says  Sister  Eliza,  "  made  occasional 
inroads  among  us.  Nursing  the  sick  in  tents  and 
wagons  was  a  laborious  service ;  but  the  patient 
faithfulness  with  which  it  was  performed  is,  no  doubt, 
registered  in  the  archives  above,  as  an  unfading 
memento  of  brotherly  and  sisterly  love.  The  burial 
of  the  dead  by  the  wayside  was  a  sad  office.  For 
husbands,  wives  and  children  to  consign  the  cher- 
ished remains  of  loved  ones  to  a  lone,  desert  grave, 
was  enough  to  try  the  firmest  heartstrings. 

"  Although  every  care  and  kindness  possible 
under  the  circumstances  were  extended  to  her,  the 
delicate  constitution  of  Mrs.  Jedediah  M.  Grant  was 
not  sufficient  for  the  hardships  of  the  journey.  I 
was  with  her  much,  previous  to  her  death,  which 
occurred  so  near  to  Salt  Lake  Valley,  that  by  forced 
drives,  night  and  day,  her  remains  were  brought 
through  for  interment.  Not  so,  however,  with  her 
beautiful  babe  of  eight  or  ten  months,  whose  death 
preceded  her's  about  two  weeks ;  it  was  buried  in 
the  desert." 

The  companies  now  began  to  hear  of  the  pioneers 
and  the  location  of  "  Great  Salt  Lake  City."  On 
the  4th  of  August  several  of  the  Mormon  battalion 
were  met  returning  from  the  Mexican  war.  They 
were  husbands  and  sons  of  women  in  this  division. 
There  was  joy  indeed  in  the  meeting.  Next  came 
an  express  from  the  valley,  and  finally  the  main 
body  of  the  pioneers,  returning  to  winter  quarters. 
On  the  Sweetwater,  Apostle  Taylor  made  for  them 
a  royal  feast,  spoken  of  to  this  day.  Sisters  Taylor, 
Home,  and  others  of  our  leading  pioneer  women, 
sustained  the  honors  of  that  occasion. 


336  THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM. 

Early  in  October  the  companies,  one  after  another, 
reached  the  valley. 

The  next  year  many  of  the  pioneers  made  their 
second  journey  to  the  mountains,  and  with  them 
now  came  Daniel  H.  Wells,  the  story  of  whose  wife, 
Louisa,  shall  close  these  journeys  of  the  pioneers. 

Although  exceedingly  desirous  of  crossing  the 
plains  with  the  first  company  of  that  year,  her  father 
was  unable  to  do  more  than  barely  provide  the  two 
wagons  necessary  to  carry  his  family  and  provisions, 
and  the  requisite  number  of  oxen  to  draw  them. 
The  luxury  of  an  extra  teamster  to  care  for  the 
second  wagon  was  out  of  the  question ;  and  so 
Louisa,  although  but  twenty-two  years  of  age,  and 
although  she  had  never  driven  an  ox  in  her  life, 
heroically  undertook  the  task  of  driving  one  of  the 
outfits,  and  caring  for  a  younger  brother  and  sister. 

The  picture  of  her  starting  is  somewhat  amusing. 
After  seeing  that  her  allotment  of  baggage  and 
provisions,  along  with  her  little  brother  and  sister, 
had  been  stowed  in  the  wagon ;  with  a  capacious 
old-fashioned  sun-bonnet  on  her  head,  a  parasol  in 
one  hand  and  an  ox-whip  in  the  other,  she  placed 
herself  by  the  side  of  her  leading  yoke  of  oxen  and 
bravely  set  her  face  westward.  Matters  went  well 
enough  for  a  short  distance,  considering  her  inexpe- 
rience with  oxen  ;  but  the  rain  began  to  pour,  and 
shortly  her  parasol  was  found  to  be  utterly  inade- 
quate, so  in  disgust  she  threw  it  into  the  wagon, 
and  traveled  on  in  the  wet  grass  amid  the  pouring 
rain.  Presently  the  paste-board  stiffeners  of  her 
sun-bonnet  began  to  succumb  to  the  persuasive 
moisture,  and  before  night,  draggled  and  muddy, 


THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM.  337 

and    thoroughly  wet   to   the   skin,  her  appearance 
was  fully  as  forlorn  as  her  condition  was  pitiable. 

This  was  truly  a  discouraging  start,  but  nothing 
daunted  she  pressed  on  with  the  company,  and  never 
allowed  her  spirits  to  flag.  Arrived  at  the  Sweet- 
water,  her  best  yoke  of  oxen  died  from  drinking  the 
alkali  water,  and  for  a  substitute  she  was  obliged  to 
yoke  up  a  couple  of  cows.  Then  came  the  tug  of 
war;  for  so  irregular  a  proceeding  was  not  to  be 
tolerated  for  a  moment  by  the  cows,  except  under 
extreme  compulsion.  More  unwilling  and  refractory 
laborers  were  probably  never  found,  and  from  that 
point  onward  Louisa  proceeded  only  by  dint  of  the 
constant  and  vigorous  persuasions  of  her  whip. 

During  the  journey  a  Mrs.  McCarthy  was  con- 
fined ;  and  it  was  considered  necessary  that  Louisa 
should  nurse  her.  But  it  was  impossible  for  her  to 
leave  her  team  during  the  day ;  so  it  was  arranged 
that  she  should  attend  the  sick  woman  at  night. 
For  three  weeks  she  dropped  her  whip  each  night 
when  the  column  halted,  and  leaving  her  team  to 
be  cared  for  by  the  brethren,  repaired  to  Mrs. 
McCarthy's  wagon,  nursing  her  through  the  night, 
and  then  seizing  her  whip  again  as  the  company 
moved  forward  in  the  morning. 

However,  she  maintained  good  health  throughout 
the  journey,  and  safely  piloted  her  heterodox  outfit 
into  the  valley  along  with  the  rest  of  the  company. 

On  the  journey,  after  wearing  out  the  three  pairs 
of  shoes  with  which  she  was  provided,  she  was 
obliged  to  sew  rags  on  her  feet  for  protection.  But 
each  day  these  would  soon  wear  through,  and  often 
she  left  bloody  tracks  on  the  cruel  stones. 

22 


338  THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM. 

It  was  on  this  journey  that  she  first  became  ac- 
quainted with  Gen.  Wells,  to  whom  she  was  married 
shortly  after  they  reached  the  valley.  As  the  senior 
wife  of  that  distinguished  gentleman,  "Aunt  Louisa" 
is  well  known  throughout  Utah  ;  and  as  a  most 
unselfish  and  unostentatious  dispenser  of  charity, 
and  an  ever-ready  friend  and  helper  of  the  sick  and 
needy,  her  name  is  indellibly  engraved  on  the  hearts 
of  thousands. 


CHAPTER  XXXVI. 

BATHSHEBA  W.    SMITH'S  STORY    CONTINUED THE    PIO- 
NEERS    RETURN     TO    WINTER     QUARTERS A    NEW 

PRESIDENCY   CHOSEN OLIVER    COWDERY   RETURNS 

TO  THE  CHURCH GATHERING  THE  REMNANT  FROM 

WINTER    QUARTERS DESCRIPTION    OF    HER    HOUSE 

ON    WHEELS. 

Continuing  her  narration  of  affairs  at  winter 
quarters,  Sister  Bathsheba  W.  Smith  says : 

"  As  soon  as  the  weather  became  warm,  and  the 
"gardens  began  to  produce  early  vegetables,  the 
"  sick  began  to  recover.  We  felt  considerable  anx- 
"  iety  for  the  safety  of  the  pioneers,  and  for  their 
"  success  in  finding  us  a  home.  About  the  first  of 
"  December,  to  our  great  joy,  a  number  of  them 
"  returned.  They  had  found  a  place  in  the  heart  of 
"  the  Great  Basin,  beyond  the  Rocky  Mountains,  so 
"barren,  dry,  desolate  and  isolated  that  we  thought 
"  even  the  cupidity  of  religious  bigots  would  not  be 
"  excited  by  it.  The  pioneers  had  laid  out  a  city, 
"  and  had  commenced  a  fort ;  and  some  seven  hun- 
"  dred  wagons  and  about  two  thousand  of  our  people 
"had  by  this  time  arrived  there.  The  country  was 
"  so  very  dry  that  nothing  could  be  made  to  grow 
"  without  irrigation. 


34O  THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM. 

"  After  the  location  of  winter  quarters  a  great 
"number  of  our  people  made  encampments  on  the 
"east  side  of  the  river,  on  parts  of  the  Pottawat- 
"  omie  lands.  The  camps,  thus  scattered,  spread 
"  over  a  large  tract.  On  one  occasion  my  husband 
"and  I  visited  Hyde  Park,  one  of  these  settlements, 
"  in  company  with  the  twelve  apostles.  They  there 
"held  a  council  in  a  log-cabin,  and  a  great  manifes- 
"  tation  of  the  holy  spirit  was  poured  out  upon  those 
"present.  At  this  council  it  was  unanimously 
"decided  to  organize  the  First  Presidency  of  the 
"  Church  according  to  the  pattern  laid  down  in  the 
"  Book  of  Covenants.  Soon  after,  a  general  confer- 
"  ence  was  held  in  the  log  tabernacle  at  Kanesville 
"  (now  Council  Bluffs),  at  which  the  saints  acknowl- 
edged Brigham  Young  President  of  the  Church, 
"and  Heber  C.  Kimball  and  Willard  Richards  his 
"  councilors. 

"  Shortly  after  this  conference  our  family  moved 
"  to  the  Iowa  side  of  the  river.  My  husband  bought 
"  two  log-cabins,  and  built  two  more,  which  made  us 
"  quite  comfortable.  The  winter  was  very  cold,  but 
"wood  was  plentiful,  and  we  used  it  freely.  The 
"situation  was  a  romantic  one,  surrounded  as  we 
"were  on  three  sides  by  hills.  We  were  favored 
"with  an  abundance  of  wild  plums  and  raspberries. 
"We  called  the  place  Car-bun-ca,  after  an  Indian 
"  brave  who  had  been  buried  there. 

"In  May,  1848,  about  five  hundred  wagons  fol- 
lowed President  Young  on  his  return  to  Salt  Lake. 
"In  June  some  two  hundred  wagons  followed  Dr. 
"Willard  Richards.  When  Dr.  Richards  left,  all 
"the  saints  that  could  not  go  with  him  were  com- 


THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM.  341 

"pelled  by  the  United  States  authorities  to  vacate 
"winter  quarters.  They  recrossed  into  Iowa,  and 
"had  to  build  cabins  again.  This  was  apiece  of 
"oppression  which  was  needless  and  ill-timed,  as 
"  many  of  the  families  which  had  to  move  were 
"  those  of  the  men  who  had  gone  in  the  Mormon 
"battalion.  This  compulsory  move  was  prompted 
"by  the  same  spirit  of  persecution  that  had  caused 
"the  murder  of  so  many  of  our  people,  and  had 
"  forced  us  all  to  leave  our  homes  and  go  into  the 
"  wilderness. 

"  On  the  Iowa  side  of  the  river  we  raised  wheat, 
41  Indian  corn,  buckwheat,  potatoes,  and  other  vege- 
"  tables;  and  we  gathered  from  the  woods  hazel  and 
"hickory  nuts,  white  and  black  walnuts,  and  in  ad- 
dition to  the  wild  plums  and  raspberries  before 
"mentioned,  we  gathered  elderberries,  and  made 
"  elderberry  and  raspberry  wine.  We  also  preserved 
"plums  and  berries.  By  these  supplies  we  were 
"better  furnished  than  we  had  been  since  leaving 
"  our  homes.  The  vegetables  and  fruits  caused  the 
"scurvy  to  pretty  much  disappear. 

"  In  September,  1848,  a  conference  was  held  in  a 
"grove  on  Mosquito  Creek,  about  two  thousand  of 
"the  saints  being  present.  Oliver  Cowdery,  one  of 
"  the  witnesses  of  the  Book  of  Mormon,  was  there. 
"  He  had  been  ten  years  away  from  the  Church,  and 
"  had  become  a  lawyer  of  some  prominence  in  North- 
"ern  Ohio  and  Wisconsin.  At  this  conference  I 
"vheard  him  bear  his  testimony  to  the  truth  of  the 
"  Book  of  Mormon,  in  the  same  manner  as  is  re- 
"  corded  in  the  testimony  of  the  three  witnesses  in 
"  that  book. 


342  THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM. 

"  In  May,  1849,  about  four  hundred  wagons  were 
"  organized  and  started  West. 

"In  the  latter  part  of  June  following,  our  family 
"  left  our  encampment.  We  started  on  our  journey 
"  to  the  valley  in  a  company  of  two  hundred  and 
"  eighteen  wagons.  These  were  organized  into 
"three  companies,  which  were  subdivided  into  com- 
"  panics  of  ten,  each  company  properly  officered. 
"  Each  company  also  had  its  blacksmith  and  wagon- 
"  maker,  equipped  with  proper  tools  for  attending 
"to  their  work  of  setting  tires,  shoeing  animals,  and 
"  repairing  wagons. 

"  Twenty-four  of  the  wagons  of  our  company  be- 
longed to  the  Welch  saints,  who  had  been  led 
"from  Wales  by  Elder  Dan  Jones.  They  did  not 
"  understand  driving  oxen.  It  was  very  amusing  to 
"  see  them  yoke  their  cattle ;  two  would  have  an 
"animal  by  the  horns,  one  by  the  tail,  and  one  or 
"two  others  would  do  their  best  to  put  on  the  yoke, 
"whilst  the  apparently  astonished  ox,  not  at  all  en- 
"  lightened  by  the  gutteral  sounds  of  the  Welch 
"  tongue,  seemed  perfectly  at  a  loss  what  to  do,  or 
"to  know  what  was  wanted  of  him.  But  these 
"saints  amply  made  up  for  their  lack  of  skill  in 
"  driving  cattle  by  their  excellent  singing,  which 
"afforded  us  great  assistance  in  our  public  meetings, 
"and  helped  to  enliven  our  evenings. 

"  On  this  journey  my  wagon  was  provided  with 
"  projections,  of  about  eight  inches  wide,  on  each 
"  side  of  the  top  of  the  box.  The  cover,  which  was 
"high  enough  for  us  to  stand  erect,  was  widened  by 
"these  projections.  A  frame  was  laid  across  the 
"back  part  of  our  wagon,  and  was  corded  as  a  bed- 


THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM.  343 

"  stead ;  this  made  our  sleeping  very  comfortable. 
41  Under  our  beds  we  stowed  our  heaviest  articles. 
"  We  had  a  door  in  one  side  of  the  wagon  cover,  and 
"  on  the  opposite  side  a  window.  A  step-ladder  was 
"  used  to  ascend  to  our  door,  which  was  between  the 
"wheels.  Our  cover  was  of  'osnaburg,'  lined  with 
"  blue  drilling.  Our  door  and  window  could  be 
"  opened  and  closed  at  pleasure.  I  had,  hanging 
11  up  on  the  inside,  a  looking-glass,  candlestick,  pin- 
"  cushion,  etc.  In  the  centre  of  our  wagon  we  had 
"  room  for  four  chairs,  in  which  we  and  our  two  chil- 
"  dren  sat  and  rode  when  we  chose.  The  floor  of 
"  our  traveling  house  was  carpeted,  and  we  made 
"  ourselves  as  comfortable  as  we  could  under  the 
"  circumstances. 

"  After  having  experienced  the  common  vicissi- 
"  tudes  of  that  strange  journey,  having  encountered 
"  terrible  storms  and  endured  extreme  hardships,  we 
"  arrived  at  our  destination  on  the  5th  of  November, 
"one  hundred  and  five  days  after  leaving  the  Mis- 
"  souri  river.  Having  been  homeless  and  wandering 
"up  to  this  time,  I  was  prepared  to  appreciate  a 
44  home." 


CHAPTER  XXXVII. 

THE     MARTYRED     PATRIARCH'S     WIDOW A     WOMAN'S 

STRENGTH     AND     INDEPENDENCE THE     CAPTAIN 

"LEAVES  HER  OUT  IN  THE  COLD" HER  PROPHESY 

AND     CHALLENGE    TO     THE    CAPTAIN A    PIONEER 

INDEED SHE  IS  LED  BY  INSPIRATION THE  SEERIC 

GIFT   OF    THE  SMITHS    WITH    HER HER   CATTLE— 

THE     RACE FATE     AGAINST      THE     CAPTAIN THE 

WIDOW'S    PROPHESY    FULFILLED. 

"  I  will  beat  you  to  the  valley,  and  ask  no  help 
"  from  you  either !" 


The  exodus  called  out  the  women  of  Mormon- 
dom  in  all  their  Spartan  strength  of  character. 
They  showed  themselves  State-founders  indeed. 
We  are  reading  examples  of  them  as  pioneers  un- 
surpassed even  by  the  examples  of  the  immortal 
band  of  pioneer  apostles  and  elders  who  led  them 
to  the  "  chambers  of  the  mountains."  The  follow- 
ing story  of  the  widow  of  Hyrum  Smith  will  finely 
illustrate  this  point : 

At  the  death  of  the  patriarch  the  care  of  the 
family  fell  upon  his  widow,  Mary  Smith.  Besides 
the  children  there  were  several  helpless  and  infirm 


THE   WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM.  345 

people,  whom  for  various  charitable  reasons  the 
patriarch  had  maintained ;  and  these  also  she  cared 
for,  and' brought  through  to  the  valley  the  major 
part  of  them,  under  unusually  trying  circumstances. 
Passing  over  the  incidents  of  her  journey  to  win- 
ter quarters,  after  the  expulsion  from  Nauvoo,  we 
come  at  once  to  her  heroic  effort  from  winter  quar- 
ters westward.  In  the  spring  of  1848  a  tremendous 
effort  was  made  by  the  saints  to  emigrate  to  the 
valley  on  a  grand  scale.  No  one  was  more  anxious 
than  Widow  Smith  ;  but  to  accomplish  it  seemed  an 
impossibility,  for  although  a  portion  of  her  house- 
hold had  emigrated  in  1847,  sne  still  had  a  large 
and,  comparatively,  helpless  family — her  sons  John 
and  Joseph,  mere  boys,  being  her  only  support. 
Without  teams  sufficient  to  draw  the  number  of 
wagons  necessary  to  haul  provisions  and  outfit  for 
the  family,  and  without  means  to  purchase,  or  friends 
who  were  in  circumstances  to  assist,  she  determined 
to  make  the  attempt,  and  trust  in  the  Lord  for  the 
issue.  Accordingly  every  nerve  was  strained,  and 
every  available  object  was  brought  into  requisition. 
Cows  and  calves  were  yoked  up,  two  wagons  lashed 
together,  and  a  team  barely  sufficient  to  draw  one 
was  hitched  on  to  them,  and  in  this  manner  they 
rolled  out  from  winter  quarters  some  time  in  May. 
After  a  series  of  the  most  amusing  and  trying  cir- 
cumstances, such  as  sticking  in  the  mud,  doubling 
teams  up  all  the  little  hills,  and  crashing  at  ungov- 
ernable speed  down  the  opposite  sides,  breaking 
wagon-tongues  and  reaches,  upsetting,  and  vainly 
trying  to  control  wild  steers,  heifers,  and  unbroken 
cows,  they  finally  succeeded  in  reaching  the  Elk 


Y 


346  THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM. 

Horn,  where  the  companies  were  being  organized 
for  the  plains. 

Here  Widow  Smith  reported  herself  to  President 
Kimball  as  having  "  started  for  the  valley."  Mean- 
time, she  had  left  no  stone  unturned  or  problem 
untried,  which  promised  assistance  in  effecting  the 
necessary  preparations  for  the  journey.  She  had 
done  to  her  utmost,  and  still  the  way  looked  dark 
and  impossible. 

President  Kimball  consigned  her  to  Captain 's 

fifty.  The  captain  was  present.  Said  he  : 

"Widow  Smith,  how  many  wagons  have  you  ?" 

"  Seven." 

"  How  many  yokes  of  oxen  have  you?" 

"  Four,"  and  so  many  cows  and  calves. 

"  Well,"  said  the  captain,  "  it  is  folly  for  you  to 
"start  in  this  manner;  you  never  can  make  the 
"journey,  and  if  you  try  it  you  will  be  a  burden 
"  upon  the  company  the  whole  way.  My  advice  to 
"  you  is,  to  go  back  to  winter  quarters  and  wait  till 
"  you  can  get  help." 

Widow  Smith  calmly  replied:  ."  Father "  (he 

was  an  aged  man),  "  I  will  beat  you  to  the  valley, 
"  and  will  ask  no  help  from  you  either  !" 

This  seemed  to  nettle  the  old  gentleman,  and  it 
doubtless  influenced  his  conduct  toward  her  during 
the  journey. 

WThile  lying  at  Elk  Horn  she  sent  back  and  suc- 
ceeded in  buying  on  credit,  and  hiring  for  the  jour- 
ney, several  yoke  of  oxen  from  brethren  who  were 
not  able  to  emigrate  that  year,  and  when  the  com- 
panies were  ready  to  start  she  and  her  family  were 
somewhat  better  prepared  for  the  journey,  and 


THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM.  347 

rolled  out  with  lighter  hearts  and  better  prospects 
than  favored  their  egress  from  winter  quarters. 

As  they  journeyed  on  the  captain  lost  no  oppor- 
tunity to  vent  his  spleen  on  the  widow  and  her 
family;  but  she  prayerfully  maintained  her  integrity 
of  purpose,  and  pushed  vigorously  on,  despite  sev- 
eral discouraging  circumstances. 

One  day,  as  they  were  moving  slowly  through 
the  hot  sand  and  dust,  in  the  neighborhood  of  the 
Sweetwater,  the  sun  pouring  down  with  excessive 
heat,  towards  noon,  one  of  Widow  Smith's  best  oxen 
laid  down  in  the  yoke,  rolled  over  on  his  side,  and 
stiffened  out  his  legs  spasmodically,  evidently  in  the 
throes  of  death.  The  unanimous  opinion  was  that 
he  was  poisoned.  All  the  hindmost  teams  of  course 
stopped,  the  people  coming  forward  to  know  what 
was  the  matter.  In  a  short  time  the  captain,  who 
was  in  advance  of  the  company,  perceiving  that 
something  was  wrong,  came  to  the  spot.  Probably 
no  one  supposed  for  a  moment  that  the  ox  would 
recover,  and  the  captain's  first  words  on  seeing  him 
were  : 

"  He  is  dead,  there  is  no  use  working  with  him; 
"  we'll  have  to  fix  up  some  way  to  take  the  widow 
"  along;  I  told  her  she  would  be  a  burden  upon  the 
"  company." 

Meantime  Widow  Smith  had  been  searching  for  a 
bottle  of  consecrated  oil  in  one  of  the  wagons,  and 
now  came  forward  with  it,  and  asked  her  brother, 
Joseph  Fielding,  and  the  other  brethren,  to  admin- 
ister to  the  ox,  thinking  that  the  Lord  would  raise 
him  up.  They  did  so,  pouring  a  portion  of  oil  on 
the  top  of  his  head,  between  and  back  of  the  horns, 


348  THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM. 

and  all  laid  hands  upon  him,  and  one  prayed,  ad- 
ministering the  ordinance  as  they  would  have  done 
to  a  human  being  that  was  sick.  In  a  moment  he 
gathered  up  his  legs,  and  at  the  first  word  arose  to 
his  feet,  and  traveled  right  off  as  well  as  ever.  He 
was  not  even  unyoked  from  his  mate. 

On  the  22d  of  September  the  company  crossed 
over  "  Big  Mountain,"  when  they  had  the  first 
glimpse  of  Salt  Lake  Valley.  Every  heart  rejoiced, 
and  with  lingering  fondness  they  gazed  upon  the 
goal  of  their  wearisome  journey.  The  descent  of  the 
western  side  of  "  Big  Mountain  "  was  precipitous 
and  abrupt,  and  they  were  obliged  to  rough-lock 
the  hind  wheels  of  the  wagons,  and,  as  they  were 
not  needed,  the  forward  cattle  were  turned  loose  to 
be  driven  to  camp,  the  "wheelers"  only  being  re- 
tained on  the  wagons.  Desirous  of  shortening  the 
next  day's  journey  as  much  as  possible,  they  drove 
on  till  a  late  hour  in  the  night,  and  finally  camped 
near  the  eastern  foot  of  the  "  Little  Mountain." 
During  this  night's  drive  several  of  Widow  Smith's 
cows,  that  had  been  turned  loose  from  the  teams, 
were  lost  in  the  brush.  Early  next  morning  her  son 
John  returned  to  hunt  for  them,  their  service  in  the 
teams  being  necessary  to  proceed. 

At  an  earlier  hour  than  usual  the  captain  gave 
orders  for  the  company  to  start,  knowing  well  the 
circumstances  of  the  widow,  and  that  she  would  be 
obliged  to  remain  till  John  returned  with  the  lost 
cattle.  Accordingly  the  company  rolled  out,  leaving 
her  and  her  family  alone.  Hours  passed  by  ere 
John  returned  with  the  lost  cattle,  and  the  company 
could  be  seen  toiling  along  far  up  the  mountain. 


THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM.  349 

And  to  human  ken  it  seemed  probable  that  the 
widow's  prediction  would  ingloriously  fail.  But  as 
the  company  were  nearing  the  summit  of  the  moun- 
tain a  cloud  burst  over  their  heads,  sending  down 
the  rain  in  torrents,  and  throwing  them  into  utter 
confusion.  The  cattle  refused  to  pull,  and  to  save 
the  wagons  from  crashing  down  the  mountain  side, 
they  were  obliged  to  unhitch,  and  block  the  wheels. 
While  the  teamsters  sought  shelter,  the  storm  drove 
the  cattle  in  every  direction,  so  that  when  it  sub- 
sided it  was  a  day's  work  to  find  them  and  get  them 
together.  Meantime,  as  noted,  John  had  returned 
with  the  stray  cattle,  and  they  were  hitched  up,  and 
the  widow  and  family  rolled  up  the  mountain,  pass- 
ing the  company  and  continuing  on  to  the  valley, 
where  she  arrived  fully  twenty  hours  in  advance  of 
the  captain.  And  thus  was  her  prophesy  fulfilled. 
She  kept  her  husband's  family  together  after  her 
arrival  in  the  valley,  and  her  prosperity  was  unpar- 
alleled. At  her  death,  which  occurred  September 
2ist,  1852,  she  left  them  comfortably  provided  for, 
and  in  possession  of  every  educational  endowment 
that  the  facilities  of  the  times  would  permit 


CHAPTER  XXXVIII. 

UTAH  IN  THE  EARLY  DAYS PRESIDENT  YOUNG'S  PRIM- 
ITIVE HOME RAISING  THE  STARS   AND  STRIPES  ON 

MEXICAN    SOIL THE    HISTORICAL    THREAD    UP   TO 

THE  PERIOD  OF  THE  "  UTAH  WAR." 

The  early  days  in  the  valley  are  thus  described 
by  Eliza  R.  Snow : 

"  Our  first  winter  in  the  mountains  was  delight- 
ful ;  the  ground  froze  but  little  ;  our  coldest  weather 
was  three  or  four  days  in  November,  after  which 
the  men  plowed  and  sowed,  built  houses,  etc.  The 
weather  seemed  to  have  been  particularly  ordered 
to  meet  our  very  peculiar  circumstances.  Every 
labor,  such  as  cultivating  the  ground,  procuring  fuel 
and  timber  from  the  canyons,  etc.,  was  a  matter  of 
experiment.  Most  of  us  were  houseless;  and  what 
the  result  would  have  been,  had  that  winter  been 
like  the  succeeding  ones,  may  well  be  conjectured. 

"  President  Young  had  kindly  made  arrangements 
for  me  to  live  with  his  wife,  Clara  Decker,  who  came 
with  the  pioneers,  and  was  living  in  a  log-house 
about  eighteen  feet  square,  which  constituted  a 
portion  of  the  east  side  of  our  fort.  This  hut,  like 
most  of  those  built  the  first  year,  was  roofed  with 
willows  and  earth,  the  roof  having  but  little  pitch, 


THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM.  351 

the  first-comers  having  adopted  the  idea  that  the 
valley  was  subject  to  little  if  any  rain,  and  our  roofs 
were  nearly  flat.  We  suffered  no  inconvenience 
from  this  fact  until  about  the  middle  of  March,  when 
a  long  storm  of  snow,  sleet  and  rain  occurred,  and 
for  several  days  the  sun  did  not  make  its  appear- 
ance. The  roof  of  our  dwelling  was  covered  deeper 
with  earth  than  the  adjoining  ones,  consequently  it 
did  not  leak  so  soon,  and  some  of  my  neighbors 
huddled  in  for  shelter;  but  one  evening,  when  sev- 
eral were  socially  sitting  around,  the  water  com- 
menced dripping  in  one  place,  and  then  in  another; 
they  dodged  it  for  awhile,  but  it  increased  so  rapidly 
that  they  finally  concluded  they  might  as  well  go  to 
their  own  wet  houses.  After  they  had  gone  I  spread 
my  umbrella  over  my  head  and  shoulders  as  I  en- 
sconced myself  in  bed,  the  lower  part  of  which,  not 
shielded  by  the  umbrella,  was  wet  enough  before 
morning.  The  earth  overhead  was  thoroughly  sat- 
urated, and  after  it  commenced  to  drip  the  storm 
was  much  worse  indoors  than  out. 

"  The  small  amount  of  breadstuff  brought  over 
the  plains  was  sparingly  dealt  out;  and  our  beef, 
made  of  cows  and  oxen  which  had  constituted  our 
teams,  was,  before  it  had  time  to  fatten  on  the  dry 
mountain  grass,  very  inferior.  Those  to  whom  it 
yielded  sufficient  fat  to  grease  their  griddles,  were 
considered  particularly  fortunate.  But  we  were 
happy  in  the  rich  blessings  of  peace,  which,  in  the 
spirit  of  brotherly  and  sisterly  union,  we  mutually 
enjoyed  in  our  wild  mountain  home. 

"  Before  we  left  winter  quarters,  a  committee,  ap- 
pointed for  the  purpose,  inspected  the  provisions  of 


352  THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM. 

each  family,  in  order  to  ascertain  that  all  were  pro- 
vided with  at  least  a  moderate  competency  of  flour, 
etc.  The  amount  of  flour  calculated  to  be  necessary 
was  apportioned  at  the  rate  of  three-quarters  of  a 
pound  for  adults  and  one-half  pound  per  day  for 
children.  A  portion  of  the  battalion  having  been 
disbanded  on  the  Pacific  coast,  destitute  of  pay  for 
their  services,  joined  us  before  spring,  and  we  cheer- 
fully divided  our  rations  of  flour  with  them,  which 
put  us  on  still  shorter  allowance. 

"  Soon  after  our  arrival  in  the  valley,  a  tall  liberty- 
pole  was  erected,  and  from  its  summit  (although 
planted  in  Mexican  soil),  the  stars  and  stripes 
seemed  to  float  with  even  more  significance,  if  pos- 
sible, than  they  were  wont  to  do  on  Eastern  breezes. 

"  I  love  that  flag.     When  in  my  childish  glee — 
A  prattling  girl,  upon  my  grandsire's  knee — 
I  heard  him  tell  strange  tales,  with  valor  rife, 
How  that  same  flag  was  bought  with  blood  and  life. 


"  And  his  tall  form  seemed  taller  when  he  said, 
*  Child,  for  that  flag  thy  grandsire  fought  and  bled.' 
My  young  heart  felt  that  every  scar  he  wore, 
Caused  him  to  prize  that  banner  more  and  more. 


"  I  caught  the  fire,  and  as  in  years  I  grew, 
I  loved  the  flag ;  I  loved  my  country  too. 


"  There  came  a  time  that  I  remember  well — 
Beneath  the  stars  and  stripes  we  could  not  dwell ! 
We  had  to  flee;  but  in  our  hasty  flight 
We  grasped  the  flag  with  more  than  mortal  might; 

"  And  vowed,  although  our  foes  should  us  bereave 
Of  all  things  else,  the  flag  we  would  not  leave. 
We  took  the  flag;  and  journeying  to  the  West, 
We  wore  its  motto  graven  on  each  breast." 


THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM.  353 

The  personal  narrative,  up  to  the  period  of  the 
Utah  war,  is  thus  continued  by  Bathsheba  W. 
Smith  : 

"In  1856  my  husband  was  sent  as  delegate  to 
"  Washington,  by  vote  of  the  people  of  the  Territory, 
"to  ask  for  the  admission  of  Utah  as  a  State.  In 
"  May,  1857,  he  returned.  Congress  would  not  admit 
"  Utah  into  the  Union.  On  his  journey  East  his 
"  horse  failed,  and  he  had  to  walk  about  five  hundred 
"  miles  on  the  plains.  This  made  him  very  foot-sore, 
"  as  he  was  a  heavy  man. 

"On  the  24th  of  July,  1857,  I  was  in  company 
"with  my  husband  and  a  goodly  number  of  others 
"  at  the 'Big  Cottonwood  Lake,  near  the  head  of  Big 
"  Cottonwood  Canyon,  where  we  were  celebrating 
"  the  anniversary  of  the  arrival  of  the  pioneers  in 
"  Salt  Lake  Valley,  when  word  was  brought  to  us 
"that  the  United  States  mail  for  Utah  was  stopped, 
"and  that  President  James  Buchanan  was  sending 
"  out  an  army  to  exterminate  us.  We  turned  to 
"hear  what  President  Young  would  say.  In  effect 
"  he  said  :  'If  they  ever  get  in,  it  will  be  because  we 
"  will  permit  them  to  do  so/ 

"In  September  my  husband  went  out  into  the 
"mountains  and  stayed  about  four  weeks,  assisting 
"in  conducting  the  correspondence  with  the  leaders 
"  of  the  invading  army.  Fear  came  upon  the  army, 
"  and  they  dared  not  come  face  to  face  with  our  peo- 
"  pie  ;  so  they  stayed  out  in  the  mountains,  while  our 
"  people  came  home,  excepting  a  few  who  remained 
"  to  watch  them. 

"  Soon  after  my  husband's  return,  he  married  Sis- 
"  ter  Susan  Elizabeth  West,  and  brought  her  home. 

23 


354  THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM. 

"  About  this  time  I  was  having  a  new  house  built. 
"  One  day,  in  the  forenoon,  I  had  been  watching  the 
"  men  plastering  it,  and  had  been  indulging  in  the 
"pleasant  thoughts  that  would  naturally  occur  on 
"such  an  occasion,  when  my  husband  came  home 
"  and  said  it  had  been  determined  in  council  that  all 
"  of  our  people  were  to  leave  their  homes  and  go 
"  south,  as  it  was  thought  wiser  to  do  this  than  to 
"  fight  the  army.  Accordingly,  on  the  last  day  of 
"March,  1858,  Sister  Susan,  myself,  and  son  and 
"daughter,  started  south,  bidding  farewell  to  our 
"  home  with  much  the  same  feelings  that  I  had  ex- 
perienced at  leaving  Nauvoo. 

"  Peace  having  subsequently  been  restored,  we 
"returned  to  Salt  Lake  City  on  the  third  of  July 
"following.  Instead  of  flowers,  I  found  weeds  as 
"  high  as  my  head  all  around  the  house.  When  we 
"  entered  the  city  it  was  near  sunset ;  all  was  quiet ; 
"  every  door  was  shut  and  every  window  boarded 
"up.  I  could  see  but  two  chimneys  from  which 
"  smoke  was  issuing.  We  were  nearly  the  first  that 
"  had  returned.  Being  thus  restored  to  my  home 
"again,  I  was  happy  and  contented,  although  I  had 
"but  few  of  the  necessaries  of  life." 


CHAPTER  XXXIX. 

THE  WOMEN  OF    MORMONDOM  IN    THE    PERIOD  OF   THE 

UTAH  WAR THEIR  HEROIC  RESOLVE  TO  DESOLATE 

THE    LAND THE   SECOND  EXODUS MRS.  CARRING- 

TON GOVERNOR    CUMMING's    WIFE A  NATION    OF 

HEROES. 

For  an  example  of  the  heroism  of  woman  excelling 
all  other  examples  of  history — at  least  of  modern 
times — let  us  turn  to  that  of  the  Mormon  women 
during  the  Utah  war. 

In  the  expulsions  from  Missouri,  first  from  county 
to  county,  and  then  en  masse  from  the  State,  un- 
doubtedly the  Mormons  yielded  to  the  compulsion 
of  a  lawless  mob,  coupled  with  the  militia  of  the 
State,  executing  the  exterminating  order  of  Gov- 
ernor Boggs.  It  was  an  example  of  suffering  and 
martyrdom  rather  than  of  spontaneous  heroism. 
Something  of  the  same  was  illustrated  in  the  ex- 
pulsion from  Illinois.  It  was  at  the  outset  nothing 
of  choice,  but  all  of  compulsion.  True,  after  the 
movement  of  the  community,  inspired  by  the  apos- 
tolic forcefulness  of  Brigham  Young  and  his  com- 
peers, swelled  into  a  grand  Israelitish  exodus,  then 
the  example  towered  like  a  very  pyramid  of  heroism  ; 
and  in  that  immortal  circumstance  who  can  doubt 
that  the  heroic  culminated  in  the  women  ? 


356  THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM. 

But  what  shall  be  said  of  their  example  during 
the  Utah  war?  Here  wrere  women  who  chose  and 
resolved  to  give  an  example  to  the  civilized  world 
such  as  it  had  never  seen.  The  proposed  exodus 
from  Utah  was  not  in  the  spirit  of  submission,  but 
an  exhibition  of  an  invincible  spirit  finding  a  method 
of  conquest  through  an  exodus.  This  was  not 
weakness,  but  strength.  It  was  as  though  the  ac- 
cumulated might  and  concentrated  purposes  of  their 
lives  were  brought  into  a  supreme  action.  The 
example  of  the  Utah  war  was  in  fact  all  their  own. 
The  Mormons  were  not  subdued.  Had  the  issue 
come,  they  would  have  left  Utah  as  conquerors. 

"  Tell  the  government  that  the  troops  now  on  the 
"march  for  Utah  shall  not  enter  the  Great  Salt 
"Lake  Valley.  Tell  the  people  of  the  United 
"  States  that  should  those  troops  force  an  entrance 
"they  will  find  Utah  a  desert,  every  house  burned 
"to  the  ground,  every  tree  cut  down,  and  every  field 
"  laid  waste.  We  will  apply  the  torch  to  our  own 
"  dwellings,*  cut  down  those  richly-laden  orchards 
"with  our  own  hands,  turn  the  fruitful  field  again 
"  into  a  desert,  and  desolate  our  cities,  with  accla- 
"mations." 

Such  was  the  tenor  of  the  communication  carried 
by  Captain  Van  Vliet  to  the  government.  And  he 
had  seen  the  whole  people  lift  up  their  hands  in 
their  tabernacle  to  manifest  their  absolute  resolu- 
tion to  the  nation,  and  heard  those  acclamations  in 
anticipation  of  their  act. 

The  very  nature  of  the  case  brought  the  women 
of  Mormondom  into  supreme  prominence.  Their 
hands  would  have  applied  the  torches  to  their 


THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM.  357 

homes ;  they  would  have  been  the  desolaters  of  the 
fast-growing  cities  of  Utah.  The  grandeur  of  the 
action  was  in  these  unconquerable  women,  who 
would  have  maintained  their  religion  and  their  sa- 
cred institutions  in  the  face  of  all  the  world. 

The  example  of  the  wife  of  Albert  Carrington 
will,  perchance,  be  often  recalled,  generations  hence. 
Capt.  Van  Vliet,  of  the  United  States  Army,  had 
arrived  in  Salt  Lake  City  in  the  midst  of  the  trou- 
bles out  of  which  grew  the  "  war."  He  was  received 
most  cordially  by  the  authorities,  but  at  the  same 
time  was  given  to  understand  that  the  people  were 
a  unit,  and  that  they  had  fully  determined  upon  a 
programme.  The  sisters  took  him  into  their  gar- 
dens, and  showed  him  the  paradise  that  their 
woman-hands  would  destroy  if  the  invading  army 
came.  He  was  awed  by  the  prospect — his  ordinary 
judgment  confounded  by  such'  extraordinary  exam- 
ples. To  the  lady  above-mentioned,  in  whose  gar- 
den he  was  one  day  walking,  in  conversation  with 
the  governor  and  others,  he  exclaimed  : 

"  What,  madam  !  would  you  consent  to  see  this 
"beautiful  .home  in  ashes  and  this  fruitful  orchard 
"  destroyed  ?" 

"  Yes  !"  answered  Sister  Carrington,  with  heroic 
resolution,  "  I  would  not  only  consent  to  it,  but  I 
"would  set  fire  to  my  home  with  my  own  hands, 
"  and  cut  down  every  tree,  and  root  up  every  plant!" 

Coupled  with  this  will  be  repeated  the  dramatic 
incident  of  Governor  Cumming's  wife  weeping  over 
the  scene  of  the  deserted  city  after  the  community 
had  partly  executed  their  resolution. 

The  saints  had  all  gone  south,  with  their  leader, 


358  THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM. 

when  Governor  Gumming,  with  his  wife,  returned 
from  Camp  Scott.  They  proceeded  to  the  residence 
of  Elder  Staines,  whom  they  found  in  waiting.  His 
family  had  gone  south,  and  in  his  garden  were  sig- 
nificantly heaped  several  loads  of  straw. 

The  governor's  wife  inquired  their  meaning,  and 
the  cause  of  the  silence  that  pervaded  the  city. 
Elder  Staines  informed  her  of  their  resolve  to  burn 
the  town  in  case  the  army  attempted  to  occupy  it 

"  How  terrible  !"  she  exclaimed.  "  What  a  sight 
"this  is  !  I  shall  never  forget  it !  it  has  the  appear- 
"  ance  of  a  city  that  has  been  afflicted  with  plague. 
"  Every  house  looks  like  a  tomb  of  the  dead  !  For 
"  two  miles  I  have  seen  but  one  man  in  it.  Poor 
"  creatures  !  And  so  all  have  left  their  hard-earned 
"  homes  ?" 

Here  she  burst  into  tears. 

"  Oh  !  Alfred  (to  her  husband),  something  must 
"be  done  to  bring  them  back!  Do  not  permit  the 
"  army  to  stay  in  the  city  !  Can't  you  do  something 
"  for  them  ?" 

"  Yes,  madam,"  said  he,  "  I  shall  do  all  I  can,  rest 
"  assured." 

Mrs.  Gumming  wept  for  woman  !  But  the  women 
of  Mormondom  gloried  in  their  sublime  action  as 
they  had  never  done  before.  They  felt  at  that  mo- 
ment that  their  example  was  indeed  worthy  of  a 
modern  Israel. 

It  thus  struck  the  admiration  of  journalists  both 
in  America  and  Europe.  The  Mormons  were  pro- 
nounced "  A  nation  of  heroes  !"  Those  heroes  were 
twice  ten  thousand  women,  who  could  justly  claim 
the  tribute  equally  with  their  husbands,  their  breth- 
ren and  their  sons. 


CHAPTER   XL. 

MIRIAM    WORKS  AND   MARY   ANN    ANGELL SCENES   OF 

THE   PAST DEATH-BED    OF    MIRIAM — EARLY    DAYS 

OF     MARY HER    MARRIAGE    WITH    BRIGHAM THE 

GOOD    STEP-MOTHER SHE     BEARS     HER     CROSS     IN 

THE     PERSECUTIONS A     BATTLE     WITH     DEATH 

POLYGAMY MARY    IN    THE    EXODUS    AND   AT  WIN- 
TER    QUARTERS THE     HUT     IN     THE     VALLEY 

CLOSING    A    WORTHY    LIFE. 

The  death-bed  of  a  latter-day  saint ! 

It  was  in  the  house  of  Heber  C.  Kimball,  in  the 
little  town  of  Mendon,  N.  Y.,  on  the  8th  of  Septem- 
ber, 1832.  Principal  around  that  glorious  death-bed 
were  Brigham  Young,  Heber  C.  Kimball,  and  Vilate, 
his  wife. 

The  dying  saint  was  Miriam  Works,  first  wife  of 
Brigham  Young — a  man  of  destiny,  but  then  un- 
known in  the  great  world.  "In  her  expiring  mo- 
"  ments,"  he  says,  "  she  clapped  her  hands  and 
"  praised  the  Lord,  and*  called  upon  Brother  Kimball 
"  and  all  around  to  also  praise  the  Lord !" 


On  the   8th    of  June,  1803,  in    Seneca,   Ontario 
county,  N.  Y.,  was  born  Mary  Ann  Angell,  now  for 


360  THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM. 

forty-five  years  the  wife  of  Brigham  Young,  the 
mother  of  his  eldest  sons,  and  the  faithful  step- 
mother of  the  daughters  of  Miriam  Works. 

Her  parents  early  leaving  her  birthplace,  Mary 
was  brought  up  in  Providence,  R.  I.  She  was  what 
in  those  days  was  denominated  a  pious  maiden,  for 
her  family  was  strictly  of  the  old  Puritan  stock  of 
the  country.  She  early  became  a  Sunday-school 
teacher,  and  united  with  the  Free-Will  Baptists. 
The  study  of  the  prophesies  quite  engrossed  her 
mind,  and  she  was  confidently  looking  for  their  ful- 
fillment. Her  semi-ministerial  duties  as  a  Sunday- 
school  teacher  toned  and  strengthened  her  early 
womanhood;  and  hence  she  resolved  never  to  marry 
until  she  met  "  a  man  of  God  "  to  whom  her  heart 
should  go  out,  to  unite  with  him  in  the  active  duties 
of  a  Christian  life.  Thus  it  came  about  that  she 
remained  a  maiden  until  nearly  thirty  years  of  age. 
But  the  providence  that  watched  over  her  had 
chosen  for  her  a  husband. 

It  was  during  the  year  1830  that  Thomas  B. 
Marsh  came  to  Providence,  bringing  with  him  the 
Book  of  Mormon.  From  him  Mary  obtained  a 
copy,  and  .having  prayerfully  read  it,  became  con- 
vinced that  it  was  a  work  of  inspiration.  After  this 
she  went  to  Southern  New  York,  where  her  parents 
were  visiting,  and  there  she  and  her  parents  were 
baptized  by  John  P.  Greene — Brigham's  brother-in- 
law.  It  was  about  this  time  that  the  Youngs,  the 
Greenes  and  the  Kimballs  came  into  the  Church. 

Alone,  Mary  set  out  for  Kirtland,  which  had  just 
become  the  gathering  place  of  the  saints;  and  there 
she  remained  a  year  before  Brigham  and  Heber 


THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM.  361 

gathered  with  their  families.  Vilate  Kimball  was 
still  acting  the  part  of  a  mother  to  the  little  daugh- 
ters of  Miriam.  Through  hearing  Brigham  preach 
in  Kirtland,  Mary  Angell  became  acquainted  with 
him.  She  had  found  her  mate ;  he  had  found  a 
mother  indeed  to  his  little  motherless  Elizabeth  and 
Vilate. 

At  the  period  of  the  famous  march  of  the  elders 
from  Ohio  to  Missouri,  in  1834,  to  "  redeem  Zion" 
in  Jackson  county,  Mary,  now  for  over  a  year  the 
wife  of  Brigham  Young,  became  the  mother  of  his 
first  son,  Joseph  A.,  who  was  born  October  14,  1834, 
just  at  the  return  of  her  husband,  after  the  dis- 
banding of  Zion's  Camp.  Thus  during  the  most 
trying  period  of  her  first  year  of  marriage,  was  she 
left  alone  in  the  struggle  of  life,  providing  for  her- 
self, and  caring  for  her  husband's  motherless  girls. 

But  a  still  more  trying  period  came  to  this  excel- 
lent woman,  after  her  husband  became  a  member  of 
the  quorum  of  the  twelve,  and  when  the  rebellion 
against  Joseph  arose  in  Kirtland.  First  the  prophet 
and  Sidney  Rigdon  had  to  flee  for  their  lives,  and 
next  Brigham  Young  had  to  escape  from  Kirtland. 
Then  came  her  severest  struggle.  She  now  had  five 
children  to  care  and  provide  for — the  two  daughters 
of  Miriam,  her  Joseph  A.,  and  Brigham,  Jr.,  with 
his  twin  sister,  Mary  Ann.  Those  were  dark  days 
of  persecution  and  want.  The  apostates  and  anti- 
Mormons  frequently  searched  her  house  for  her 
husband,  and  the  faithful  in  Kirtland  all  had  enough 
to  do  to  sustain  themselves,  in  the  absence  of  their 
shepherds,  who  were  now  refugees  in  Far  West. 
At  length,  with  the  five  children,  she  reached  her 


362  THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM. 

husband ;  but  not  long  to  rest,  for  quickly  came  the 
expulsion  from  Missouri,  in  which  period  she  broke 
up  her  home  many  times  before  finally  settling  in 
Montrose,  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  river  from 
Nauvoo. 

Scarcely  had  Brigham  and  the  twelve  effected  the 
exodus  of  the  saints  from  Missouri  to  Illinois,  ere 
Joseph,  having  escaped  from  prison,  sent  the  twelve 
with  its  president  to  England,  on  mission. 

On  each  side  of  the  Mississippi,  in  cabins  and 
tents,  the  Mormon  people  lay,  exhausted  by  their 
many  expulsions ;  the  multitude  sick,  many  dying, 
the  vigor  of  life  scarcely  left  even  in  their  strong- 
willed  leaders.  Thus  lying  on  the  river-side  at 
Commerce  and  Montrose,  they  presented  a  spec- 
tacle no  longer  suggestive  of  irresistible  empire- 
founders.  Joseph  was  sick;  Brigham  was  sick;  the 
twelve  were  all  sick ;  the  prophet's  house  and  door- 
yard  was  a  hospital.  It  was  then  that  the  prophet, 
knowing  that  power  must  be  invoked  or  the  people 
would  perish,  leaped  from  his  sick  bed,  and  entering 
first  the  tents  and  cabins  of  the  apostles,  and  bid- 
ding them  arise  and  follow  him,  went  like  an  arch- 
angel through  the  midst  of  his  disciples,  and  "  healed 
"the  multitude."  It  is  a  grand  picture  in  the 
memory  of  the  saints,  being  called  "  The  Day  of 
"  God's  Power."  Reverse  that  picture,  and  there  is 
seen  the  exact  condition  of  Mary  Angell  Young 
and  the  other  apostles'  wives  when  the  president 
and  his  quorum  started  on  mission  to  England, 
leaving  them  to  the  care  of  the  Lord,  and  their 
brethren.  It  was  a  period  quite  as  trying  to  these 
apostolic  sisters  as  that  of  the  exodus,  afterwards. 


THE    WOMEN    OF.  MORMONDOM.  363 

And  to  none  more  so  than  to  Mary,  who  had  now 
the  burden  of  six  children  to  sustain  during  her 
husband's  absence  in  a  foreign  land. 

The  following  entries  in  the  president's  journal 
embody  a  most  graphic  story,  easily  seized  by  the 
imagination : 

"We  arrived  in  Commerce  on  the  i8th  (May, 
"  1839),  and  called  upon  Brother  Joseph  and  his 
"  family.  Joseph  had  commenced  laying  out  the 
"  city  plot. 

"  23d — I  crossed  the  Mississippi  with  my  family, 
"  and  took  up  my  residence  in  a  room  in  the  old  mil- 
"  itary  barracks,  in  company  with  Brother  Woodruff 
"  and  his  family. 

"  September  14,  1839 — I  started  from  Montrose 
"  on  my  mission  to  England.  My  health  was  so 
"  poor  that  I  was  unable  to  go  thirty  rods,  to  the 
"  river,  without  assistance.  After  I  had  crossed  the 
"  river  I  got  Israel  Barlow  to  carry  me  on  his  horse 
"behind  him,  to  Heber  C.  Kimball's,  where  I  re- 
"  mained  sick  'till  the  i8th.  I  left  my  wife  sick,  with 
"  a  babe  only  ten  days  old,  and  all  my  children  sick 
"  and  unable  to  wait  upon  each  other. 

"  1 7th — My  wife  crossed  the  river,  and  got  a  boy 
"with  a  wagon  to  bring  her  up  about  a  mile,  to 
"  Brother  Kimball's,  to  see  me.  I  remained  until 
"the  1 8th  at  Brother  Kimball's,  when  we  started, 
"  leaving  his  family  also  sick." 

Continue  the  picture,  with  the  husband's  absence, 
and  the  wife's  noble,  every-day  struggle  to  maintain 
and  guard  his  children,  and  we  have  her  history  well 
described  for  the  next  two  years. 

Taking  up  the  thread  again  in  September,  1841 : 


364  THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM. 

"  On  my  return  from  England,"  says  Brigham,  in  his 
diary,  "  I  found  my  family  living  in  a  small  unfin- 
"  ished  log-cabin,  situated  on  a  low,  wet  lot,  so 
"  swampy  that  when  the  first  attempt  was  made  to 
J<  plough  it  the  oxen  mired ;  hut  after  the  city  was 
"  drained  it  became  a  very  valuable  garden  spot." 

The  scene,  a  year  later,  is  that  of  President  Young 
at  "  death's  door,"  and  the  wife  battling  with  death 
to  save  her  husband.  He  was  suddenly  attacked 
with  a  slight  fit  of  apoplexy.  This  was  followed  by 
a  severe  fever.  For  eighteen  days  he  lay  upon  his 
back,  and  was  not  turned  upon  his  side  during  that 
period. 

"  When  the  fever  left  me,  on  the  eighteenth  day," 
lie  says,  "  I  was  bolstered  up  in  my  chair,  but  was  so 
"  near  gone  that  I  could  not  close  my  eyes,  which 
"were  set  in  my  head ;  my  chin  dropped  down,  and 
"  my  breath  stopped.  My  wife,  seeing  my  situation, 
"  threw  some  cold  water  in  my  face  and  eyes,  which 
"I  did  not  feel  in  the  least;  neither  did  I  move  a 
"  muscle.  She  then  held  my  nostrils  between  her 
"  thumb  and  finger,  and  placing  her  mouth  directly 
"  over  mine,  blew  into  my  lungs  until  she  filled  them 
"with 'air.  This  set  my  lungs  in  motion,  and  I  again 
"  began  to  breathe.  While  this  was  going  on  I  was 
"  perfectly  conscious  of  all  that  was  passing  around 
"  me ;  my  spirit  was  as  vivid  as  it  ever  was  in  my 
"  life ;  but  I  had  no  feeling  in  my  body." 

Mary,  by  the  help  of  God,  had  thus  saved  the 
life  of  President  Young  ! 

It  was  about  this  time  that  polygamy,  or  "  celes- 
"  tial  marriage,"  was  introduced  into  the  Church. 
To  say  that  it  was  no  cross  to  these  Mormon 


THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM.  365 

wives — daughters  of  the  strictest  Puritan  parent- 
age— would  be  to  mock  their  experience.  It  was 
thus,  also,  with  their  husbands,  in  Nauvoo,  in  1842. 
President  Young  himself  tells  of  the  occasion  when 
he  stood  by  the  grave  of  one  of  the  brethren  and 
wished  that  the  lot  of  the  departed  was  his  own. 
The  burden  of  polygamy  seemed  heavier  than  the 
hand  of  death.  It  was  nothing  less  than  the  po- 
tency of  the  "  Thus  saith  the  Lord,"  and  the  faith 
of  the  saints  as  a  community,  that  sustained  them — 
both  the  brethren  and  the  sisters.  Mary  Angell 
gave  to  her  husband  other  wives,  and  the  testimony 
which  she  gives  to-day  is  that  it  has  been  the  "Thus 
"  saith  the  Lord  "  unto  her,  from  the  time  of  its  in- 
troduction to  the  present. 

Scarcely  necessary  is  it  to  observe  that  she  was 
in  the  exodus.  Seven  children  were  now  under  her 
care.  Alice,  Luna,  and  John  W.  were  born  in  Mon- 
trose  and  Nauvoo,  while  the  twin  sister  of  Brigham, 
Jr.,  had  died.  With  these  she  remained  at  winter 
quarters  while  the  president  led  the  pioneers  to  the 
Rocky  Mountains.  Her  benevolence  to  the  poor 
at  winter  quarters  (and  who  of  them  were  then 
rich  !)  is  spoken  of  to  this  day.  Indeed,  benevo- 
lence has  ever  been  a  marked  trait  in  her  life. 

Then  came  the  hut  in  the  valley.  The  "  heat  and 
"burden  of  the  day"  had  not  passed.  Full  twenty 
years  of  struggle,  self-sacrifice,  and  devotion  as  a 
wife,  uncommon  in  its  examples,  filled  up  the  pages 
of  "  Sister  Young's  history,"  as  a  latter-day  saint, 
before  the  days  of  social  prominence  came. 

The  hut  in  the  valley,  where  she  lived  in  1849,  *s 
a  good  pioneer  picture.  It  stood  on  the  spot  where 


366  THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM. 

now  stands  her  residence — the  "White  House;" 
and  some  ten  rods  north-west  of  that  location  stood 
a  row  of  log-cabins  where  dwelt  President  Young's 
other  wives,  with  their  children. 

Since  then  the  days  of  grandeur,  befitting  her 
station,  have  come;  but  "  Mother  Young" — a  name 
honored  in  her  bearing — has  lived  most  in  the 
public  mind  as  the  faithful  wife,  the  exemplary 
mother,  and  a  latter-day  saint  in  whose  heart  benev- 
olence and  native  goodness  have  abounded.  She 
is  now  seventy-four  years  of  age — closing  a  marked 
and  worthy  life ;  and  her  latest  expressed  desire  is 
that  a  strong  testimony  should  be  borne  of  her  faith 
in  Mormonism,  and  the  righteousness  of  her  hus- 
band in  carrying  out  the  revelation,  given  through 
Joseph  Smith,  on  polygamy,  as  the  word  and  will  of 
the  Lord  to  his  people. 


CHAPTER  XLI. 

THE    REVELATION     ON     POLYGAMY BISHOP    WHITNEY 

PRESERVES  A  COPY  OF  THE  ORIGINAL  DOCUMENT 

BELINDA  M.  PRATES  FAMOUS    LETTER. 

It  was  nearly  twenty-three  years  after  the  estab- 
lishment of  the  Church  of  Jesus  Christ  of  Latter-day 
Saints,  that  the  revelation  on  celestial  marriage 
was  published  to  the  world.  On  the  6th  of  April, 
1830,  the  Church  was  founded  on  the  i4th  of  Sep- 
tember, 1852,  the  Deseret  News  published  an  extra, 
containing  the  said  revelation,  the  origin  thus  dated  : 
"Given  to  Joseph  Smith,  Nauvoo,  July  12,  1843;" 
and  in  the  Millennial  Star,  January  ist,  1853,  it  was 
published  to  the  saints  of  the  British  mission. 

No  need  here  for  a  review  of  that  document  on 
plural  marriage,  nor  a  sociological  discussion  of  this 
now  world-noised  institution  of  the  Mormons ;  but 
as  some  persons  have  ascribed  that  institution  to 
President  Young,  and  denied  that  Joseph  Smith 
was  its  revelator,  the  word  of  sisters  who  have  been 
with  the  Church  from  the  beginning  shall  be  offered 
as  a  finality  upon  the  question  of  its  origin. 

Eliza  R.  Snow  has  already  testified  on  the  subject 
of  her  marriage  to  the  prophet  Joseph,  not  by 
proxy,  but  personally,  during  his  lifetime ;  and  all 


368  THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM. 

the  Church  know  her  as  Joseph's  wife.     The  daugh- 
ters of  Bishop  Partridge,  and  others,  were  also  sealed 
to  him  in  person,  in  the  order  of  celestial  marriage. 
A  very    proper    one    to    spe:ilc    here   is    Mother 
Whitney,    for  it   was    her    husband,  Bishop  Whit- 
ney, who    preserved    the   revelation  on    polygamy. 
Speaking    of   the     time   when    her    husband    kept 
store    for   Joseph     (1842-3),   she    says:     "It   was 
"  during. this  time  that  Joseph  received  the  revelation 
"concerning  celestial  marriage;  also  concerning  the 
"  ordinances  of  the  house  of  the  Lord.    He  had  been 
"  strictly  charged,  by  the  angel  who  committed  these 
"precious  things  into   his  keeping,  that   he  should 
"  only  reveal  them  to  such  ones  as  were  pure,  and  full 
"  of  integrity  to  the  truth,  and  worthy  and  capable  of 
"  beingentrusted  with  divine  messages ;  that  to  spread 
"  them  abroad  would  only  be  like  casting  pearls  be- 
"  fore  swine  ;  and  that  the  most  profound  secresy  was 
"  to  be  maintained,  until  the  Lord  saw  fit  to  make  it 
"known  publicly  through  his  servants.     Joseph  had 
"  the  most  implicit  confidence  in  my  husband's  up- 
rightness   and   integrity  of  character,  and    so   he 
"confided  to  him  the  principles  set  forth  in  that  rev- 
"  elation,  and  also  gave  him  the  privilege  of  reading 
"and  making  a  copy  of  it,  believing  it  would  be  per- 
"  fectly  safe  with  him.     It  is  this  same  copy  that  was 
"  preserved  in  the   providence  of  God ;    for  Emma 
"  (Joseph's  wife),   afterwards    becoming   indignant, 
"  burned  the  original,  thinking  she  had  destroyed  the 
"  only  written  document  upon  the  subject  in  existence. 
"  My  husband  revealed  these  things  to  me.    We  had 
"  always  been  united,  and  had  the  utmost  faith  and 
"  confidence  in  each  other.     We  pondered  upon  the 


THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM.  369 

"  matter  continually,  and  our  prayers  were  unceasing 
"  that  the  Lord  would  grant  us  some  special  manifes- 
"  tation  concerning  this  new  and  strange  doctrine. 
"  The  Lord  was  very  merciful  to  us,  revealing  unto 
"  us  his  power  and  glory.  We  were  seemingly  wrapt 
"  in  a  heavenly  vision ;  a  halo  of  light  encircled  us, 
"  and  we  were  convinced  in  our  own  bosoms  that  God 
"  heard  and  approved  our  prayers  and  intercedings 
"before  him.  Our  hearts  were  comforted,  and  our 
"  faith  made  so  perfect  that  we  were  willing  to  give 
"our  eldest  daughter,  then  seventeen  years  of  age, 
"  to  Joseph,  in  the  order  of  plural  marriage.  Laying 
"  aside  all  our  traditions  and  former  notions  in  regard 
"  to  marriage,  we  gave  her  with  our  mutual  consent. 
"  She  was  the  first  woman  given  in  plural  marriage 
"  with  the  consent  of  both  parents.  Of  course  these 
''things  had  to  be  kept  an  inviolate  secret;  and  as 
"  some  were  false  to  their  vows  and  pledges  of  secresy, 
"  persecution  arose,  and  caused  grievous  sorrow  to 
"  those  who  had  obeyed,  in  all  purity  and  sincerity, 
"  the  requirements  of  this  celestial  order  of  marriage. 
"  The  Lord  commanded  his  servants ;  they  themselves 
"  did  not  comprehend  what  the  ultimate  course  of 
"  action  would  be,  but  were  waiting  further  develop- 
"  ments  from  heaven.  Meantime,  the  ordinances  of 
"  the  house  of  the  Lord  were  given,  to  bless  and 
"  strengthen  us  in  our  future  endeavors  to  promulgate 
"  the  principles  of  divine  light  and  intelligence ;  but 
"coming  in  contact  with  all  preconceived  notions 
"  and  principles  heretofore  taught  as  the  articles  of 
"  religious  faith,  it  was  not  strange  that  many  could 
"  not  receive  it.  Others  doubted  ;  and  only  a  few 
"  remained  firm  and  immovable." 

24 


37°  THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM. 

On  the  publication  of  the  revelation  on  polygamy, 
the  theological  writers  of  the  Church  issued  pam- 
phlets, promulgating  and  defending  the  "peculiar 
institution,"  as  the  Gentiles  styled  it.  Orson 
Spencer  issued  Patriarchal  Marriage ;  Parley  P. 
Pratt  issued  Marriage  and  Morals  in  Utah;  and 
Orson  Pratt  was  sent  to  Washington  to  proclaim, 
at  the  seat  of  government,  the  great  social  innova- 
tion. This  was  the  origin  of  the  Seer,  a  periodical 
there  issued  by  him.  Among  the  various  writings 
of  the  times,  upon  the  subject,  was  a  tract  entitled 
Defence  of  Polygamy  by  a  Lady  of  Utah,  in  a  Letter 
to  her  Sister  in  New  Hampshire.  The  following 
are  extracts  from  it,  in  which  is  strikingly  made 
manifest  the  fact  that  the  sisterhood  accepted  po- 
lygamy upon  the  examples  of  the  Hebrew  Bible, 
rather  than  upon  any  portion  of  the  Book  of  Mor- 
mon : 

"SALT  LAKE  CITY,  January  12,  1854. 
"  DEAR  SISTER: 

"  Your  letter  of  October  2d  was  received  yester- 
day. *  *  *  It  seems,  my  dear  sister,  that  we 
are  no  nearer  together  in  our  religious  views  than 
formerly.  Why  is  this  ?  Are  we  not  all  bound  to 
leave  this  world,  with  all  we  possess  therein,  and 
reap  the  reward  of  our  doings  here  in  a  never- 
ending  hereafter?  If  so,  do  we  not  desire  to  be 
undeceived,  and  to  know  and  to  do  the  truth  ?  Do 
we  not  all  wish  in  our  hearts  to  be  sincere  with  our- 
selves, and  to  be  honest  and  frank  with  each  other  ? 
If  so,  you  will  bear  with  me  patiently,  while  I  give 
a  few  of  my  reasons  for  embracing,  and  holding 
sacred,  that  particular  point  in  the  doctrine  of  the 
Church  of  the  Saints,  to  which  you,  my  dear  sister, 
together  with  a  large  majority  of  Christendom,  so 
decidedly  object — I  mean  a  '  plurality  of  wives/ 


THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM.  371 

"  I  have  a  Bible  which  I  have  been  taught  from 
my  infancy  to  hold  sacred.  In  this  Bible  I  read  of 
a  holy  man  named  Abraham,  who  is  represented  as 
the  friend  of  God,  a  faithful  man  in  all  things,  a 
man  who  kept  the  commandments  of  God,  and  who 
is  called  in  the  New  Testament  the  '  father  of  the 
faithful.'  I  find  this  man  had  a  plurality  of  wives, 
some  of  whom  were  called  concubines.  I  also  find 
his  grandson,  Jacob,  possessed  of  four  wives,  twelve 
sons  and  a  daughter.  These  wives  are  spoken  very 
highly  of  by  the  sacred  writers,  as  honorable  and 
virtuous  women.  '  These/  say  the  Scriptures,  '  did 
build  the  house  of  Israel.'  Jacob  himself  was  also 
a  man  of  God,  and  the  Lord  blessed  him  and  his 
house,  and  commanded  him  to  be  fruitful  and  mul- 
tiply. I  find  also  that  the  twelve  sons  of  Jacob,  by 
these  four  wives,  became  princes,  heads  of  tribes, 
patriarchs,  wrhose  names  are  had  in  everlasting  re- 
membrance to  all  generations. 

"  Now  God  talked  with  Abraham,  Isaac  and  Jacob, 
frequently;  and  his  angels  also  visited  and  talked 
with  them,  and  blessed  them  and  their  wives  and 
children.  He  also  reproved  the  sins  ot  some  oi  the 
sons  of  Jacob,  ior  hating  and  selling  their  brother, 
and  for  adultery.  But  in  all  nis  communications 
with  them,  he  never  condemned  their  family  organ- 
ization ;  but  on  the  contrary,  always  approved  of  it, 
and  blessed  them  in  tnis  respect.  He  even  told 
Abraham  that  he  would  make  him  the  father  of 
many  nations,  and  that  in  him  and  his  seed  all  the 
nations  and  kindreds  of  the  earth  should  be  blessed. 
In  later  years  I  find  the  plurality  oi  wives  perpetu- 
ated, sanctioned,  and  provided  ior  in  the  law  of 
Moses. 

"  David,  the  psalmist,  not  o  ily  had  a  plurality  of 
wives,  but  the  Lord  spoke  by  he  mouth  of  Nathan 
the  prophet  and  told  David  that  he  (the  Lord)  had 
given  his  master's  wives  into  his  bosom ;  but  be- 
cause he  had  committed  adultery  with  the  wife  of 


372  THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM. 

Uriah,  and  caused  his  murder,  he  would  take  his 
wives  and  give  them  to  a  neighbor  of  his,  etc. 

"  Here,  then,  we  have  the  word  of  the  Lord,  not  only 
sanctioning  polygamy,  but  actually  giving  to  King 
David  the  wives  of  his  master  (Saul),  and  afterward 
taking  the  wives  of  David  from  him,  and  giving 
them  to  another  man.  Here  we  have  a  sample  of 
severe  reproof  and  punishment  for  adultery  and 
murder,  while  polygamy  is  authorized  and  approved 
by  the  word  of  God. 

"  But  to  come  to  the  New  Testament.  I  find  Jesus 
Christ  speaks  very  highly  of  Abraham  and  his 
family.  He  says:  'Many  shall  come  from  the 
east,  and  from  the  west,  and  from  the  north,  and 
from  the  south,  and  shall  sit  down  with  Abraham, 
Isaac  and  Jacob,  in  the  kingdom  of  God.'  Again 
he  said:  *  If  ye  were  Abraham's  seed,  ye  would  do 
the  works  of  Abraham.' 

"  Paul  the  apostle  wrote  to  the  saints  of  his  day, 
and  informed  them  as  follows  :  '  As  many  of  you  as 
have  been  baptized  into  Christ  have  put  on  Christ; 
and  if  ye  are  Christ's  then  are  ye  Abraham's  seed, 
and  heirs  according  to  the  promise/  He  also  sets 
forth  Abraham  and  Sarah  as  patterns  of  faith  and 
good  works,  and  as  the  father  and  mother  of  faithful 
Christians,  who  should,  by  faith  and  good  works, 
aspire  to  be  counted  the  sons  of  Abraham  and 
daughters  of  Sarah. 

"  Now  let  us  look  at  some  of  the  works  of  Sarah, 
for  which  she  is  so  highly  commended  by  the  apos- 
tles, and  by  them  held  up  as  a  pattern  for  Christian 
ladies  to  imitate. 

"  'Now  Sarah,  Abram's  wife,  bare  him  no  children;  and  she  had  an  hand- 
maid, an  Egyptian,  whose  name  was  Hagar.  And  Sarah  said  unto  Abram, 
Behold  now,  the  Lord  hath  restrained  me  from  bearing;  I  pray  thee  go  in  unto 
my  maid ;  it  may  be  that  I  may  obtain  children  by  her.  And  Abram  harkened 
unto  the  voice  of  Sarah.  And  Sarah,  Abram's  wife,  took  Hagar  her  maid,  the 
Egyptian,  after  Abram  had  dwelt  ten  years  in  the  land  of  Canaan,  and  gave  her 
to  her  husband,  Abram,  to  be  his  wife.'  (Gen.  xvi. ;  i,  2,  3). 

"  According   to    Jesus  Christ   and  the    apostles, 


THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM.  373 

then,  the  only  way  to  be  saved,  is  to  be  adopted  into 
the  great  family  of  polygamists,  by  the  gospel,  and 
then  strictly  follow  their  examples.  Again,  John 
the  Revelator  describes  the  holy  city  of  the  Hea- 
venly Jerusalem,  with  the  names  of  the  twelve  sons 
of  Jacob  inscribed  on  the  gates. 

u  To  sum  up  the  whole,  then,  I  find  that  polyga- 
mists were  the  friends  of  God ;  that  the  family  and 
lineage  of  a  polygamist  was  selected,  in  which  all 
nations  should  be  blessed;  that  a  polygamist  is 
named  in  the  New  Testament  as  the  father  of  the 
faithful  Christians  of  after  ages,  and  cited  as  a  pat- 
tern for  all  generations.  That  the  wife  of  a  polyg- 
amist, who  encouraged  her  husband  in  the  practice 
of  the  same,  and  even  urged  him  into  it,  and  offi- 
ciated in  giving  him  another  wife,  is  named  as  an 
honorable  and  virtuous  woman,  a  pattern  for  Chris- 
tian ladies,  and  the  very  mother  of  all  holy  women 
in  the  Christian  Church,  whose  aspiration  it  should 
be  to  be  called  her  daughters. 

4 'That  Jesus  has  declared  that  the  great  fathers 
of  the  polygamic  family  stand  at  the  head  in  the 
kingdom  of  God;  in  short,  that  all  the  saved  of 
after  generations  should  be  saved  by  becoming 
members  of  a  polygamic  family;  that  all  those  who 
do  not  become  members  of  it,  are  strangers  and 
aliens  to  the  covenant  of  promise,  the  common- 
wealth of  Israel,  and  not  heirs  according  to  the 
promise  made  to  Abraham. 

"  That  all  people  from  the  east,  west,  north  and 
south,  who  enter  into  the  kingdom,  enter  into  the 
society  of  polygamists,  and  under  their  patriarchal 
rule  and  covenant. 

"  Indeed  no  one  can  approach  the  gates  of  heaven 
without  beholding  the  names  of  twelve  polygamists 
(the  sons  of  four  different  women  by  one  man), 
engraven  in  everlasting  glory  upon  the  pearly  gates. 

"  My  dear  sister,  with  the  Scriptures  before  me,  I 
could  never  find  it  in  my  heart  to  reject  the  heavenly 


374  THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM. 

vision  which  has  restored  to  man  the  fullness  of  the 
gospel,  or  the  latter-day  prophets  and  apostles, 
merely  because  in  this  restoration  is  included  the 
ancient  law  of  matrimony  and  of  family  organiza- 
tion and  government,  preparatory  to  the  restoration 

of  all  Israel. 

****** 

"  Your  affectionate  sister, 

"  BELINDA  MARDEN  PRATT. 
"  Mrs.  Lydia  Kimball,  Nashua,  N.  H.'s 


CHAPTER  XLII. 

REVELATION  SUPPORTED  BY  BIBLICAL  EXAMPLES  - 
THE  ISRAELITISH  GENIUS  OF  THE  MORMONS  SHO\  N 
IN  THE  PATRIARCHAL  NATURE  OF  THEIR  INSTI- 
TUTIONS  THE  ANTI-POLYGAMIC  CRUSADE. 

Next  after  the  revelation  on  celestial  marriage, 
through  Joseph  the  prophet,  the  Bible  of  the  He- 
brews, and  not  the  sacred  record  of  the  ancients  of 
this  continent,  must  be  charged  with  the  authority, 
the  examples,  and,  consequently,  the  practice  of 
polygamy  in  the  Latter-day  Church.  The  examples 
of  Abraham,  Jacob,  Solomon,  and  the  ancients  of 
Israel  generally,  and  not  the  examples  of  Nephi, 
Mormon,  and  their  people,  whose  civilization  is  now 
extinct,  have  been  those  accepted  by  our  modern 
Israel — examples  of  such  divine  potency  that  the 
women  of  England  and  America,  with  all  their 
monogamic  training  and  prejudice,  have  dared  not 
reject  nor  make  war  against  in  woman's  name. 

Ever  and  everywhere  is  the  genius  of  Mormon- 
ism  so  strikingly  in  the  Abrahamic  likeness  and 
image,  that  one  could  almost  fancy  the  patriarchs 
of  ancient  Israel  inspiring  a  modern  Israel  to  per- 
petuate their  name,  their  faith  and  their  institutions. 
Who  shall  say  that  this  is  not  the  fact  ?  Surely 


376  THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM. 

this  patriarchal  genius  of  the  Mormons  is  the  most 
extraordinary  test  of  a  modern  Israel.  Jerusalem, 
not  Rome,  has  brought  forth  the  Mormons  and 
their  peculiar  commonwealth. 

And  here  it  should  be  emphasized  that  polygamy 
had  nought  to  do  with  the  expulsions  of  the  Mor- 
mons from  Missouri  and  Illinois.  The  primitive 
"crime"  of  the  Mormons  was  their  belief  in  new 
revelation.  Fifty  years  ago  that  was  a  monstrous 
crime  in  the  eyes  of  sectarian  Christendom.  The 
present  generation  can  scarcely  comprehend  how 
blasphemous  the  doctrine  of  modern  revelation 
seemed  to  this  very  nation  of  America,  which  now 
boasts  of  ten  to  twelve  millions  of  believers  in  reve- 
lation from  some  source  or  other.  Thus  wonderful 
has  been  the  change  in  fifty  yeai*s  ! 

Viewed  as  a  cause  of  their  persecutions  in  the 
past,  next  to  this  faith  of  the  Mormons  in  Jehovah's 
speaking,  was  their  rapid  growth  as  a  gathered  and 
organized  people,  who  bid  fair  to  hold  the  balance 
of  political  power  in  several  States.  A  prominent 
grievance  with  Missouri  and  Illinois  was  exactly 
that  urged  against  the  growth  of  the  ancient  Chris- 
tians— "  if  we  let  them  alone  they  will  take  away 
our  name  and  nation  !" 

Following  down  the  record  until  the  period  of 
the  Utah  war,  it  is  still  the  fact  that  polygamy  was 
not  the  cause  of  the  anti-Mormon  crusade.  It  was 
not  even  the  excuse  of  that  period,  as  given  by 
President  Buchanan  and  Congress.  It  was  merely 
an  Israelitish  trouble  in  the  world. 

Soon  after  this,  however,  polygamy  did  become 
the  excuse,  both  to  Congress  and  the  dominant 


THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM.  377 

political  party  of  the  country,  to  take  action  against 
the  Mormons  and  their  Israelitish  institutions.  In 
framing  the  Chicago  platform,  the  Republican  party, 
just  rising  to  supremacy,  made  slavery  one  of  its 
planks,  and  polygamy  another.  Upon  these  "twin 
relics  "  they  rode  into  the  administration  of  the  gov- 
ernment of  the  country. 

Then  came  the  anti-polygamic  law  of  1862,  espe- 
cially framed  against  the  Mormons.  But  it  was 
found  to  be  inoperative.  Lincoln,  who  had  known 
many  of  them  in  the  early  days,  let  the  Mormons 
alone. 

The  civil  war  was  over.  The  South  had  suc- 
cumbed. The  work  of  reconstruction  was  fairly  in 
progress.  The  conquerer  Grant,  and  his  adminis- 
tration, resolved  to  grapple  with  "  polygamic  the- 
ocracy," as  they  styled  it — if  need  be  by  the  action 
and  issues  of  another  Mormon  war. 

First  came  Colfax  to  Zion,  to  "  spy  out  the  land." 
To  the  polygamic  saints  he  administered  the  gentle 
warning  of  a  soft  tongue,  which,  however,  concealed 
a  serpent's  sting.  Returning  east,  after  his  famous 
tour  across  the  continent,  he  opened  a  theological 
assault  upon  Mormon  polygamy  in  the  New  York 
Independent,  and  soon  became  engaged  in  a  regular 
battle  with  apostle  John  Taylor.  Returning  to 
Zion,  on  his  second  visit,  the  Vice-President  actu- 
ally preached  an  anti-polygamic  sermon  to  the 
Mormons,  one  evening,  in  front  of  the  Townsend 
House,  in  Salt  Lake  City,  in  which  he  quoted  what 
he  interpreted  as  anti-polygamic  passages  from  the 
Book  of  Mormon. 

The  scene  changes  to  Washington.     Colfax,  Cul- 


THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM. 

lorn,  Grant  and  Dr.  Newman  are  in  travail  with  the 
Cullom  bill  and  anti-Mormon  crusade. 

The  Cullom  bill  passed  the  House  and  went  to 
the  Senate.  President  Grant  had  resolved  to  exe- 
cute it,  by  force  of  arms,  should  the  courts  fail. 
Vice-President  Colfax,  while  in  Utah,  had  pro- 
pounded the  serious  question,  "  Will  Brigham  Young- 
fight  ?" 

Congress  and  the  nation  thought  that  now  the 
doom  of  Mormon  polygamy  had  come. 

Suddenly,  like  a  wall  of  salvation,  fifty  thousand 
women  of  Mormondom  threw  themselves  around 
their  patriarchs  and  their  institutions  !  A  wonder- 
ful people,  these  Mormons  !  More  wonderful  these 
women  ! 


CHAPTER  XLIII. 

GRAND    MASS    MEETING    OF    THE    WOMEN    OF    UTAH 

ON    POLYGAMY    AND   THE   CULLOM    BILL THEIR 

NOBLE   REMONSTRANCE SPEECHES  OF   APOSTOLIC 

WOMEN THEIR   RESOLUTIONS WOMAN'S    RIGHTS 

OR  WOMAN'S  REVOLUTION. 

Probably  the  most  remarkable  woman's  rights 
demonstration  of  the  age,  was  that  of  the  women 
of  Mormondom,  in  their  grand  mass-meetings,  held 
throughout  Utah,  in  all  its  principal  cities  and  set- 
tlements, in  January  of  1870.  And  it  was  the  more 
singular  and  complex,  because  Utah  is  the  land  of 
polygamy — the  only  land  in  all  Christendom  where 
that  institution  has  been  established — and  that,  too, 
chiefly  by  an  Anglo-Saxon  people — the  last  race  in 
the  world  that  the  sociologist  might  have  supposed 
would  have  received  the  system  of  plural  marriage ! 
Hence,  they  have  lifted  it  to  a  plane  that,  perhaps, 
no  other  race  could  have  done — above  mere  sexual 
considerations,  and,  in  its  theories,  altogether  in- 
compatible with  the  serfdom  of  woman  ;  for  the  tens 
of  thousands  of  the  women  of  Utah  not  only  held 
their  grand  mass-meetings  to  confirm  and  maintain 
polygamy,  but  they  did  it  at  the  very  moment  of 
the  passage  of  their  female  suffrage  bill ;  so  that  in 


380  THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM. 

their  vast  assemblages  they  were  virtually  exercising 
their  vote. 

On  the  I3th  of  January,  1870,  "notwithstanding 
the  inclemency  of  the  weather,  the  old  tabernacle," 
says  the  Deseret  News,  "  was  densely  packed  with 
"  ladies  of  all  ages,  and,  as  that  building  will  com- 
fortably seat  five  thousand  persons,  there  could 
"  not  have  been  fewer  than  between  five  and  six 
"  thousand  present  on  the  occasion." 

It  was  announced  in  the  programme  that  there 
were  to  be  none  present  but  ladies.  Several  re- 
porters of  the  press,  however,  obtained  admittance, 
among  whom  was  Colonel  Finley  Anderson,  special 
correspondent  of  the  New  York  Herald. 

The  meeting  was  opened  with  a  very  impressive 
prayer  from  Mrs.  Zina  D.  Young;  and  then,  on  mo- 
tion of  Eliza  R.  Snow,  Mrs.  Sarah  M.  Kimball  was 
elected  president.  Mrs.  Lydia  Alder  was  chosen 
secretary,  and  Mrs.  M.  T.  Smoot,  Mrs.  M.  N.  Hyde, 
Isabella  Horn,  Mary  Leaver,  Priscilla  Staines  and 
Rachel  Grant,  were  appointed  a  committee  to  draft 
resolutions.  This  was  done  with  executive  dis- 
patch ;  for  many  present  had  for  years  been  leaders 
of  women's  organizations.  The  president  arose 
and  addressed  a  few  pithy  remarks  to  the  vast 
assemblage.  She  said : 

"  We  are  to  speak  in  relation  to  the  government 
"and  institutions  under  which  we  live.  She  would 
"ask,  Have  we  transgressed  any  law  of  the  United 
"  States  ?  [Loud  "  no  "  from  the  audience.]  Then 
"  why  are  we  here  to-day  ?  We  have  been  driven 
"  from  place  to  place,  and  wherefore  ?  Simply  for 
"believing  and  practicing  the  counsels  of  God.  as 


THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM.  381 

"contained  in  the  gospel  of  heaven.  The  object  of 
"  this  meeting  is  to  consider  the  justice  of  a  bill  now 
"before-  the  Congress  of  the  United  States.  We 
"are  not  here  to  advocate  woman's  rights,  but  man's 
"  rights.  The  bill  in  question  would  not  only  de- 
"  prive  our  fathers,  husbands  and  brothers,  of  enjoy- 
"  ing  the  privileges  bequeathed  to  citizens  of  the 
"  United  States,  but  it  would  deprive  us,  as  women, 
"  of  the  privilege  of  selecting  our  husbands;  and 
"  against  this  we  unqualifiedly  protest." 

During  the  absence  of  the  committee  on  resolu- 
tions, the  following  speech  was  delivered  by  Bath- 
sheba  W.  Smith  : 

"  Beloved  Sisters  and  Friends :  It  is  with  no  ordi- 
"  nary  feelings  that  I  meet  with  you  on  the  present 
"  occasion.  From  my  early  youth  I  have  been  iden- 
"  tified  with  the  Latter-day  Saints ;  hence,  I  have 
"  been  an  eye  and  ear  witness  to  many  of  the  wrongs 
"  that  have  been  inflicted  upon  our  people  by  a  spirit 
"of  intolerant  persecution. 

"  I  watched  by  the  bedside  of  the  first  apostle, 
"  David  W.  Patten,  who  fell  a  martyr  in  the  Church. 
"He  was  a  noble  soul.  He  was  shot  by  a  mob 
"while  defending  the  saints  in  the  State  of  Missouri. 
"  As  Brother  Patten's  life-blood  oozed  away,  I  stood 
"  by  and  heard  his  dying  testimony  to  the  truth  of 
"  our  holy  religion — declaring  himself  to  be  a  friend 
"to  all  mankind.  His  last  words,  addressed  to  his 
"wife,  were:  'Whatever  you  do,  oh  !  do  not  deny 
"  the  faith.'  This  circumstance  made  a  lasting  im- 
"pression  on  my  youthful  mind. 

"  I  was  intimately   acquainted   with   the  life  and 
"  ministry  of  our  beloved  prophet   Joseph,  and  our 


382  THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM. 

"patriarch  Hyrum  Smith..  I  know  that  they  were 
"  pure  men,  who  labored  for  the  redemption  of  the 
"  human  family.  For  six  years  I  heard  their  public 
"and  private  teachings.  It  was  from  their  lips  that 
"  I  heard  taught  the  principle  of  celestial  marriage ; 
"  and  when  I  saw  their  mangled  forms  cold  in  death, 
"having  been  slain  for  the  testimony  of  Jesus,  by 
"the  hands  of  cruel  bigots,  in  defiance  of  law,  jus- 
"  tice  and  executive  pledges ;  and  although  this  was 
"  a  scene  of  barbarous  cruelty,  which  can  never  be 
"  erased  from  the  memory  of  those  who  witnessed 
"  the  heartrending  cries  of  widows  and  orphans,  and 
"mingled  their  tears  with  those  of  thousands  of 
"  witnesses  of  the  mournful  occasion — the  memories 
"  of  which  I  hardly  feel  willing  to  awaken — yet  I 
"  realized  that  they  had  sealed  their  ministry  with 
"  their  blood,  and  that  their  testimony  was  in  force. 

"On  the  Qth  day  of  February,  1846 — the  middle 
"  of  a  cold  and  bleak  winter — my  husband,  just 
"  rising  from  a  bed  of  sickness,  and  I,  in  company 
"  with  thousands  of  saints,  were  driven  again  from 
"our  comfortable  home — the  accumulation  of  six 
"  years'  industry  and  prudence — and,  with  the  little 
"children,  commenced  a  long  and  wreary  journey 
"  through  a  wilderness,  to  seek  another  home ;  for 
"  a  wicked  mob  had  decreed  we  must  leave.  Gov- 
"  ernor  Ford,  of  Illinois,  said  the  laws  were  power- 
"  less  to  protect  us.  Exposed  to  the  cold  of  winter 
"and  the  storms  of  spring,  we  continued  our  jour- 
"  ney,  amid  want  and  exposure,  burying  by  the 
"wayside  a  dead  mother,  a  son,  and  many  kind 
"  friends  and  relatives. 

"  We  reached  the   Missouri  river  in  July.     Here 


THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM.  383 

**  our  country  thought  proper  to  make  a  requisition 
u  upon  us  for  a  battalion  to  defend  our  national  flag 
"  in  the  war  pending  with  Mexico.  We  responded 
44  promptly,  many  of  our  kindred  stepping  forward 
"and  performing  a  journey  characterized  by  their 
41  commanding  officer  as  '  unparalleled  in  history.' 
"With  most  of  our  youths  and  middle-aged  men 
41  gone,  we  could  not  proceed ;  hence,  we  were  com- 
41  pelled  to  make  another  home,  which,  though  hum- 
41  ble,  approaching  winter  made  very  desirable.  In 
"  1847-8,  all  who  were  able,  through  selling  their 
"surplus  property,  proceeded;  we  who  remained 
"were  told,  by  an  unfeeling  Indian  department,  we 
41  must  vacate  our  houses  and  re-cross  the  Missouri 
41  river,  as  the  laws  would  not  permit  us  to  remain 
"on  Indian  lands!  We  obeyed,  and  again  made  a 
"  new  home,  though  only  a  few  miles  distant.  The 
"latter  home  we  abandoned  in  1849,  for  tne  purpose 
41  of  joining  our  co-religionists  in  the  then  far-off 
41  region,  denominated  on  the  map  '  the  Great  Amer- 
"  ican  Desert,'  and  by  some  later  geographies  as 
41 4  Eastern  Upper  California.' 

"In  this  isolated  country  we  made  new  homes, 
41  and,  for  a  time,  contended  with  the  crickets  for  a 
41  scanty  subsistence.  The  rude,  ignorant,  and  almost 
"nude  Indians  were  a  heavy  tax  upon  us,  while 
"  struggling  again  to  make  comfortable  homes  and 
"improvements;  yet  we  bore  it  all  without  com- 
"  plaint,  for  we  were  buoyed  up  with  the  happy 
"  reflections  that  we  were  so  distant  from  the  States, 
"  and  had  found  an  asylum  in  such  an  undesirable 
"  country,  as  to  strengthen  us  in  the  hope  that  our 
41  homes  would  not  be  coveted ;  and  that  should  we, 


384  THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM. 

"  through  the  blessing  of  God,  succeed  in  planting 
"  our  own  vine  and  fig  tree,  no  one  could  feel  heart- 
Mess  enough  to  withhold  from  us  that  religious 
"  liberty  which  we  had  sought  in  vain  amongst  our 
"  former  neighbors. 

"  Without  recapitulating  our  recent  history,  the 
"  development  of  a  people  whose  industry  and 
"  morality  have  extorted  eulogy  from  their  bitter 
"traducers,  I  cannot  but  express  my  surprise,  min- 
"gled  with  regret  and  indignation,  at  the  recent 
"efforts  of  ignorant,  bigoted,  and  unfeeling  men— 
"  headed  by  the  Vice-President — to  aid  intolerant 
"  sectarians  and  reckless  speculators,  who  seek  for 
"proscription  and  plunder,  and  who  feel  willing  to 
"rob  the  inhabitants  of  these  valleys  of  their  hard- 
"  earned  possessions,  and,  what  is  dearer,  the  consti- 
tutional boon  of  religious  liberty." 

Sister  Smith  was  followed  by  Mrs.  Levi  Riter,  in 
a  few  appropriate  remarks,  and  then  the  committee 
on  resolutions  reported  the  following: 

"  Resolved,  That  we,  the  ladies  of  Salt  Lake  City, 
in  mass-meeting  assembled,  do  manifest  our  indig- 
nation, and  protest  against  the  bill  before  Congress, 
known  as  '  the  Cullom  bill/  also  the  one  known  as 
'the  Cragin  bill/ and  all  similar  bills,  expressions 
and  manifestoes. 

"  Resolved,  That  we  consider  the  above-named 
bills  foul  blots  on  our  national  escutcheon — absurd 
documents — atrocious  insults  to  the  honorable  ex- 
ecutive of  the  United  States  Government,  and 
malicious  attempts  to  subvert  the  rights  of  civil  and 
religious  liberty. 

"  Resolved,  That  we  do  hold  sacred  the  constitu- 
tion bequeathed  us  by  our  forefathers,  and  ignore, 


THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM.  385 

with  laudable  womanly  jealousy,  every  act  of  those 
men  to  whom  the  responsibilities  of  government 
have  been  entrusted,  which  is  calculated  to  destroy 
its  efficiency. 

"  Resolved,  That  we  unitedly  exercise  every  moral 
power  and  every  right  which  we  inherit  as  the 
daughters  of  American  citizens,  to  prevent  the  pas- 
sage of  such  bills,  knowing  that  they  would  inevita- 
bly cast  a  stigma  on  our  republican  government  by 
jeopardizing  the  liberty  and  lives  of  its  most  loyal 
and  peaceful  citizens. 

"  Resolved,  That,  in  our  candid  opinion,  the  pre- 
•sentation  of  the  aforesaid  bills  indicates  a  manifest 
degeneracy  of  the  great  men  of  our  nation ;  and 
their  adoption  would  presage  a  speedy  downfall  and 
ultimate  extinction  of  the  glorious  pedestal  of  free- 
dom, protection,  and  equal  rights,  established  by  our 
noble  ancestors. 

"Resolved,  That  we  acknowledge  the  institutions 
of  the  Church  of  Jesus  Christ  of  Latter-day  Saints 
as  the  only  reliable  safeguard  of  female  virtue  and 
innocence  ;  and  the  only  sure  protection  against  the 
fearful  sin  of  prostitution,  and  its  attendant  evils, 
now  prevalent  abroad,  and  as  such,  we  are  and  shall 
be  united  with  our  brethren  in  sustaining  them 
against  each  and  every  encroachment. 

"  Resolved,  That  we  consider  the  originators  of 
the  aforesaid  bills  disloyal  to  the  constitution,  and 
unworthy  of  any  position  of  trust  in  any  office 
which  involves  the  interests  of  our  nation. 

"  Resolved,  That,  in  case  the  bills  in  question 
should  pass  both  Houses  of  Congress,  and  become 
a  law,  by  which  we  shall  be  disfranchised  as  a  Ter- 
ritory, we,  the  ladies  of  Salt  Lake  City,  shall  exert 
all  our  power  and  influence  to  aid  in  the  support  of 
our  own  State  government." 

These  resolutions  were  greeted  with  loud  cheers 

25 


386  THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM. 

from  nearly  six  thousand  women,  and  carried  unan- 
imously; after  which,  Sister  Warren  Smith,  a  relict 
of  one  of  the  martyrs  of  Haun's  Mill,  arose,  and  with 
deep  feeling,  said  : 

"Sisters:  As  I  sat  upon  my  seat,  listening,  it 
"  seemed  as  though,  if  I  held  my  peace,  the  stones 
"  of  the  streets  would  cry  out.  With  your  prayers 
"aiding  me,  I  will  try  and  make  a  few  remarks. 
[See  chapter  on  Haun's  Mill  massacre,  in  which 
Sister  Smith  substantially  covers  the  same  ground.] 
"  We  are  here  to-day  to  say,  if  such  scenes  shall  be 
"  again  enacted  in  our  midst.  I  say  to  you,  my  sis- 
"  ters,  you  are  American  citizens ;  let  us  stand  by 
"  the  truth,  if  we  die  for  it." 

Mrs.  Wilmarth  East  then  said :  "  It  is  with  feel- 
"  ings  of  pleasure,  mingled  with  indignation  and 
"  disgust,  that  I  appear  before  my  sisters,  to  express 
"  my  feelings  in  regard  to  the  Cullom  bill,  now  be- 
"  fore  the  Congress  of  this  once  happy  republican 
"  government.  The  constitution  for  which  our  fore- 
"  fathers  fought  and  bled  and  died,  bequeaths  to  us 
"  the  right  of  religious  liberty — the  right  to  worship 
"  God  according  to  the  dictates  of  our  own  con- 
"  sciences  !  Does  the  Cullom  bill  give  us  this  right  ? 
"  Compare  it  with  the  constitution,  if  you  please, 
"and  see  what  a  disgrace  has  come  upon  this  once 
"  happy  and  republican  government !  Where,  O, 
"where,  is  that  liberty,  bequeathed  to  us  by  our 
"  forefathers — the  richest  boon  ever  given  to  man 
"  or  woman,  except  eternal  life,  or  the  gospel  of  the 
"  Son  of  God  ?  I  am  an  American  citizen  by  birth. 
"  Having  lived  under  the  laws  of  the  land,  I  claim 
"  the  right  to  worship  God  according  to  the  dictates 


THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM.  387 

"of  my  conscience,  and  the  commandments  that 
"God  shall  give  unto  me.  Our  constitution  guar- 
"antees  life,  liberty,  and  the  pursuit  of  happiness,  to 
4t  all  who  live  beneath  it.  What  is  life  to  me,  if  I 
"see  the  galling  yoke  of  oppression  placed  on  the 
"  necks  of  my  husband,  sons  and  brothers,  as  Mr. 
41  Cullom  would  have  it  ?  I  am  proud  to  say  to  you 
"that  I  am  not  only  a  citizen  of  the  United  States 
<4  of  America,  but  a  citizen  of  the  kingdom  of  God, 
4t  and  the  laws  of  this  kingdom  I  am  willing  to  sus- 
"  tain  and  defend  both  by  example  and  precept.  I 
41  am  thankful  to-day  that  I  have  the  honored  priv- 
"  ilege  of  being  the  happy  recipient  of  one  of  the 
"greatest  principles  ever  revealed  to  man  for  his 
"  redemption  and  exaltation  in  the  kingdom  of 
"  God — namely,  plurality  of  wives ;  and  I  am  thank- 
"  ful  to-day  that  I  know  that  God  is  at  the  helm,  and 
"will  defend  his  people." 

A  veteran  sister,  Mrs.  McMinn,  could  not  refrain 
from  expressing  herself  in  unison  with  her  sisters, 
in  indignation  at  the  bill.  She  was  an  American 
citizen  ;  her  father  had  fought  through  the  revolu- 
tion with  General  Washington  ;  and  she  claimed  the 
exercise  of  the  liberty  for  which  he  had  fought.  She 
was  proud  of  being  a  latter-day  saint. 

In  answer  to  an  inquiry,  she  stated  that  she.was 
nearly  eighty-five  years  of  age. 

Sister  Eliza  R.  Snow  then  addressed  the  meeting, 
as  follows  : 

"  My  Sisters:  In  addressing  you  at  this  time,  I 
"  realize  that  the  occasion  is  a  peculiar  and  interest- 
"  ing  one.  We  are  living  in  a  land  of  freedom,  under 
"  a  constitution  that  guarantees  civil  and  religious 


388  THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM. 

"  liberty  to  all — black  and  white,  Christians,  Jews, 
"  Mohammedans  and  Pagans ;  and  how  strange  it  is 
"  that  such  considerations  should  exist  as  those  which 
'  have  called  us  together  this  afternoon. 

"  Under  the  proud  banner  which  now  waves  from 
"  ocean  to  ocean,  strange  as  it  may  seem,  we,  who 
"  have  ever  been  loyal  citizens,  have  been  persecuted 
"  from  time  to  time  and  driven  from  place  to  place, 
"until  at  last,  beyond  the  bounds  of  civilization, 
"  under  the  guidance  of  President  Young,  we  found 
"  an  asylum  of  peace  in  the  midst  of  these  mountains. 

"  There  are,  at  times,  small  and  apparently  trivial 
"events  in  the  lives  of  individuals,  with  which  every 
"other  event  naturally  associates.  There  are  cir- 
"cumstances  in  the  history  of  nations,  which  serve 
"  as  centres  around  which  everything  else  revolves. 

"  The  entrance  of  our  brave  pioneers,  and  the 
"  settlement  of  the  latter-day  saints  in  these  moun- 
tain vales,  which  then  were  only  barren,  savage 
"wilds,  are  events  with  which  not  only  our  own  fu- 
"  ture,  but  the  future  of  the  whole  world,  is  deeply 
"  associated. 

"  Here  they  struggled,  with  more  than  mortal 
"  energy,  for  their  hearts  and  hands  were  nerved  by 
"  the  spirit  of  the  Most  High,  and  through  his  bless- 
"  ing  they  succeeded  in  drawing  sustenance  from  the 
"arid  soil ;  here  they  erected  the  standard  on  which 
"the  'star  spangled  banner'  waved  its  salutation  of 
"welcome  to  the  nations  of  the  earth  ;  and  here  it 
"  will  be  bequeathed,  unsullied,  to  future  generations., 
"Yes,  that  'dear  old  flag'  which  in  my  girlhood  I 
"always  contemplated  with  joyous  pride,  and  to 
"  which  the  patriotic  strains  of  my  earliest  muse  were 


THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM.  389 

"  chanted,  here  floats  triumphantly  on  the  mountain 
"  breeze. 

"  Our  numbers,  small  at  first,  have  increased,  until 
"  now  we  number  one  hundred  and  fifty  thousand ; 
41  and  yet  we  are  allowed  only  a  territorial  govern- 
41  ment.  Year  after  year  we  have  petitioned  Con- 
gress for  that  which  is  our  inalienable  right  to 
"  claim — a  State  government ;  and,  year  after  year, 
"  our  petitions  have  been  treated  with  contempt. 
"  Such  treatment  as  we  have  received  from  our  rulers, 
"has  no  precedent  in  the  annals  of  history. 

"  And  now,  instead  of  granting  us  our  rights  as 
4i  American  citizens,  bills  are  being  presented  to  Con- 
"  gress,  which  are  a  disgrace  to  men  in  responsible 
"  stations,  professing  the  least  claim  to  honor  and 
"magnanimity;  bills  which,  if  carried  into  effect, 
"  would  utterly  annihilate  us  as  a  people,  But  this 
41  will  never  be.  There  is  too  much  virtue  yet  exist- 
•"  ing  in  the  nation,  and  above  all  there  is  a  God  in 
"  heaven  whose  protecting  care  is  over  us,  and  who 
•"  takes  cognizance  of  the  acts  of  men. 

"  My  sisters,  we  have  met  to-day  to  manifest  our 
41  views  and  feelings  concerning  the  oppressive  policy 
"  exercised  towards  us  by  our  republican  government. 
"  Aside  from  all  local  and  personal  feelings,  to  me  it 
"  is  a  source  of  deep  regret  that  the  standard  of 
"American  liberty  should  have  been  so  far  swayed 
"  from  its  original  position,  as  to  have  given  rise  to 
"  circumstances  which  not  only  render  such  a  meet- 
"  ing  opportune,  but  absolutely  necessary. 

"  Heretofore,  while  detraction  and  ridicule  have 
"been  poured  forth  in  almost  every  form  that  malice 
"  could  invent,  while  we  have  been  misrepresented 


3QO  THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM. 

"  by  speech  and  press,  and  exhibited  in  every  shade 
"  but  our  true  light,  the  ladies  of  Utah  have  remained 
"  comparatively  silent.  Had  not  our  aims  been  of 
"the  most  noble  and  exalted  character,  and  had  we 
"  not  known  that  we  occupied  a  standpoint  far  above 
"  our  traducers,  we  might  have  returned  volley  for 
"  volley ;  but  we  have  all  the  time  realized  that  to 
"  contradict  such  egregious  absurdities,  would  be  a 
"great  stoop  of  condescension — far  beneath  the  dig- 
"  nity  of  those  who  profess  to  be  saints  of  the  living 
"  God ;  and  we  very  unassumingly  applied  to  our- 
"  selves  a  saying  of  an  ancient  apostle,  in  writing  to 
"  the  Corinthians, '  Ye  suffer  fools,  gladly,  seeing  that 
"  yourselves  are  wise/ 

"  But  there  is  a  point  at  which  silence  is  no  longer 
"a  virtue.  In  my  humble  opinion,  we  have  arrived 
"at  that  point.  Shall  we — ought  we — to  be  silent, 
"when  every  right  of  citizenship,  every  vestige  of 
"civil  and  religious  liberty,  is  at  stake?  When  our 
"husbands  and  sons,  our  fathers  and  brothers,  are 
"threatened  with  being  either  restrained  in  their 
"obedience  to  the  commands  of  God,  or  incarcer- 
"  ated,  year  after  year,  in  the  dreary  confines  of  a 
"prison,  will  it  be  thought  presumptuous?  Ladies, 
"  this  subject  as  deeply  interests  us  as  them.  In  the 
"kingdom  of  God,  woman  has  no  interests  separate 
"from  those  of  man — all  are  mutual. 

"  Our  enemies  pretend  that,  in  Utah,  woman  is 
"  held  in  a  state  of  vassalage — that  she  does  not  act 
"from  choice,  but  by  coercion — that  we  would  even 
"  prefer  life  elsewhere,  were  it  possible  for  us  to 
"  make  our  escape.  What  nonsense  !  We  all  know 
"  that  if  we  wished  we  could  leave  at  any  time — 


THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM.  391 

"  either  to  go  singly,  or  to  rise  en  masse,  and  there 
"  is  no  power  here  that  could,  or  would  wish  to,  pre- 
"  vent  us. 

"  I  will  now  ask  this  assemblage  of  intelligent 
"  ladies,  do  you  know  of  any  place  on  the  face  of  the 
"earth,  where  woman  has  more  liberty,  and  where 
"  she  enjoys  such  high  and  glorious  privileges  as  she 
"does  here,  as  a  latter-day  saint ?  No!  The  very 
"  idea  of  woman  here  in  a  state  of  slavery  is  a  bur- 
"  lesque  on  good  common  sense.  The  history  of* 
"  this  people,  with  a  very  little  reflection,  would  in- 
struct outsiders  on  this  point.  It  would  show,  at 
"  once,  that  the  part  which  woman  has  acted  in  it, 
"  could  never  have  been  performed  against  her  will. 
"  Amid  the  many  distressing  scenes  through  which 
"  we  have  passed,  the  privations  and  hardships  con- 
"  sequent  upon  our  expulsion  from  State  to  State, 
"  and  our  location  in  an  isolated,  barren  wilderness, 
"the  women  in  this  Church  have  performed  and 
"  suffered  what  could  never  have  been  borne  and 
"  accomplished  by  slaves. 

"  And  now,  after  all  that  has  transpired,  can  our 
"  opponents  expect  us  to  look  on  with  silent  indif- 
"  ference  and  see  every  vestige  of  that  liberty  for 
"  which  many  of  our  patriotic  grandsires  fought  and 
"  bled,  that  they  might  bequeath  to  us,  their  children, 
"  the  precious  boon  of  national  freedom,  wrested 
"  from  our  grasp  ?  They  must  be  very  dull  in  esti- 
"  mating  the  energy  of  female  character,  who  can 
"  persuade  themselves  that  women  who  for  the  sake 
"  of  their  religion  left  their  homes,  crossed  the  plains 
"  with  handcarts,  or  as  many  had  previously  done, 
"  drove  ox,  mule  and  horse-teams  from  Nauvoo 


392  THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM. 

"and  from  other  points,  when  their  husbands  and 
"sons  went,  at  their  country's  call,  to  fight  her  bat- 
"  ties  in  Mexico  ;  yes,  that  very  country  which  had 
"  refused  us  protection,  and  from  which  we  were 
"  then  struggling  to  make  our  escape — I  say  those 
"who  think  that  such  women  and  the  daughters  of 
"such  women  do  not  possess  too  much  energy  of 
"  character  to  remain  passive  and  mute  under  exist- 
"  ing  circumstances,  are  '  reckoning  without  their 
"host/  To  suppose  that  we  should  not  be  aroused 
"when  our  brethren  are  threatened  with  fines  and 
"  imprisonment,  for  their  faith  in,  and  obedience  to, 
"  the  laws  of  God,  is  an  insult  to  our  womanly  na- 
"tures. 

"  Were  we  the  stupid,  degraded,  heartbroken 
"  beings  that  we  have  been  represented,  silence 
"might  better  become  us;  but  as  women  of  God, 
"women  filling  high  and  responsible  positions,  per- 
forming sacred  duties — women  who  stand  not  as 
"  dictators,  but  as  counselors  to  their  husbands,  and 
"who,  in  the  purest,  noblest  sense  of  refined  wo- 
"  manhood,  are  truly  their  helpmates — we  not  only 
"speak  because  we  have  the  right,  but  justice  and 
"humanity  demand  that  we  should. 

"  My  sisters,  let  us,  inasmuch  as  we  are  free  to  do 
"  all  that  love  and  duty  prompt,  be  brave  and  unfal- 
tering in  sustaining  our  brethren.  Woman's  faith 
"  can  accomplish  wonders.  Let  us,  like  the  devout 
"and  steadfast  Miriam,  assist  our  brothers  in  up- 
"  holding  the  hands  of  Moses.  Like  the  loving 
"  Josephine,  whose  firm  and  gentle  influence  both 
"  animated  and  soothed  the  heart  of  Napoleon,  we 
"  will  encourage  and  assist  the  servants  of  God  in 


THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM.  393 

''establishing  righteousness;  but  unlike  Josephine, 
"  never  will  political  inducements,  threats  or  perse- 
"  cutions,  prevail  on  us  to  relinquish  our  matrimo- 
"  nial  ties.  They  were  performed  by  the  authority 
"  of  the  holy  priesthood,  the  efficiency  of  which 
"  extends  into  eternity. 

"  But  to  the  law  and  to  the  testimony.  Those 
"  obnoxious,  fratricidal  bills — I  feel  indignant  at  the 
"  thought  that  such  documents  should  disgrace  our 
"  national  legislature.  The  same  spirit  prompted 
"  Herod  to  seek  the  life  of  Jesus — the  same  that 
"  drove  our  Pilgrim  fathers  to  this  continent,  and  the 
"  same  that  urged  the  English  government  to  the 
"  system  of  unrepresented  taxation,  which  resulted 
"  in  the  independence  of  the  American  colonies,  is 
"conspicuous  in  those  bills.  If  such  measures  are 
"  persisted  in  they  will  produce  similar  results.  They 
"  not  only  threaten  extirpation  to  us,  but  they  augur 
"  destruction  to  the  government.  The  authors  of 
41  those  bills  would  tear  the  constitution  to  shreds ; 
"  they  are  sapping  the  foundation  of  American  free- 
"  dom — they  would  obliterate  every  vestige  of  the 
41  dearest  right  of  man — liberty  of  conscience — and 
"  reduce  our  once  happy  country  to  a  state  of 
"  anarchy. 

"  Our  trust  is  in  God.  He  who  led  Israel  from 
41  the  land  of  Egypt — who  preserved  Shadrach,  Mes- 
41  hach  and  Abednego  in  the  fiery  furnace — who 
41  rescued  Daniel  from  the  jaws  of  hungry  lions,  and 
44  who  directed  Brigham  Young  to  these  mountain 
<l  vales,  lives,  and  overrules  the  destinies  of  men  and 
44  nations.  He  will  make  the  wrath  of  man  praise 
"  him ;  and  his  kingdom  will  move  steadily  forward, 


394  THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM. 

"until  wickedness  shall  be  swept  from  the  earth, 
"  and  truth,  love  and  righteousness  reign  triumph- 
"antly." 

Next  came  a  concise,  powerful  speech  from  Har- 
riet Cook  Young.  She  said : 

"In  rising  to  address  this  meeting,  delicacy 
"prompts  me  to  explain  the  chief  motives  which 
"have  dictated  our  present  action.  We,  the  ladies 
"of  Salt  Lake  City,  have  assembled  here  to-day, 
"not  for  the  purpose  of  assuming  any  particular 
"  political  power,  nor  to  claim  any  special  preroga- 
tive which  may  or  may  not  belong  to  our  sex;  but 
"to  express  our  indignation  at  the  unhallowed 
"  efforts  of  men,  who,  regardless  of  every  principle 
"  of  manhood,  justice,  and  constitutional  liberty, 
"  would  force  upon  a  religious  community,  by  a  direct 
"  issue,  either  the  course  of  apostacy,  or  the  bitter 
"  alternative  of  fire  and  sword.  Surely  the  instinct 
"  of  self-preservation,  the  love  of  liberty  and  happi- 
"  ness,  and  the  right  to  worship  God,  are  dear  to 
"  our  sex  as  well  as  to  the  other ;  and  when  these 
"  most  sacred  of  all  rights  are  thus  wickedly  assail- 
"ed,  it  becomes  absolutely  our  duty  to  defend 
"them. 

"  The  mission  of  the  Latter-day  Saints  is  to  re- 
"  form  abuses  which  have  for  ages  corrupted  the 
"world,  and  to  establish  an  era  of  peace  and  right- 
"eousness.  The  Most  High  is  the  founder  of  this 
"mission,  and  in  order  to  its  establishment,  his 
"providences  have  so  shaped  the  world's  history, 
"that,  on  this  continent,  blest  above  all  other  lands, 
"a  free  and  enlightened  government  has  been  insti- 
tuted, guaranteeing  to  all  social,  political,  and 


THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM.  395 

"  religious  liberty.  The  constitution  of  our  country 
"  is  therefore  hallowed  to  us,  and  we  view  with  a 
"jealous  eye  every  infringement  upon  its  great 
"  principles,  and  demand,  in  the  sacred  name  of 
"  liberty,  that  the  miscreant  who  would  trample  it 
"  under  his  feet  by  depriving  a  hundred  thousand 
"  American  citizens  of  every  vestige  of  liberty, 
"  should  be  anathematized  throughout  the  length 
"  and  breadth  of  the  land,  as  a  traitor  to  God  and 
"  his  country. 

"  It  is  not  strange  that,  among  the  bigoted  and 
"  corrupt,  such  a  man  and  such  a  measure  should 
"  have  originated  ;  but  it  will  be  strange  indeed  if 
"  such  a  measure  find  favor  with  the  honorable  and 
"  high-minded  men  who  wield  the  destinies  of  the 
"  nation.  Let  this  seal  of  ruin  be  attached  to  the 
"archives  of  our  country,  and  terrible  must  be  the 
"  results.  Woe  will  wait  upon  her  steps,  and  war 
"  and  desolation  will  stalk  through  the  land ;  peace 
"  and  liberty  will  seek  another  clime,  while  anarchy, 
"  lawlessness  and  bloody  strife  hold  high  carnival 
"  amid  the  general  wreck.  God  forbid  that  wicked 
"  men  be  permitted  to  force  such  an  issue  upon  the 
"  nation  ! 

"  It  is  true  that  a  corrupt  press,  and  an  equally 
"  corrupt  priestcraft,  are  leagued  against  us — that 
"  they  have  pandered  to  the  ignorance  of  the  masses, 
"  and  vilified  our  institutions,  to  that  degree  that 
"  it  has  become  popular  to  believe  that  the  latter- 
"  day  saints  are  unworthy  to  live  ;  but  it  is  also  true 
"  that  there  are  many,  very  many,  right-thinking 
"  men  who  are  not  without  influence  in  the  nation ; 
"and  to  such  do  we  now  most  solemnly  and  earn- 


396  THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM. 

"  estly  appeal.  Let  the  united  force  of  this  assem- 
"  bly  give  the  lie  to  the  popular  clamor  that  the 
"women  of  Utah  are  oppressed  and  held  in  bond- 
"  age.  Let  the  world  know  that  the  women  of  Utah 
"  prefer  virtue  to  vice,  and  the  home  of  an  honora- 
"  ble  wife  to  the  gilded  pageantry  of  fashionable 
"  temples  of  sin.  Transitory  allurements,  glaring 
"  the  senses,  as  is  the  flame  to  the  moth,  short-lived 
"and  cruel  in  their  results,  possess  no  charms  for 
"  us.  Every  woman  in  Utah  may  have  her  hus- 
"band — the  husband  of  her  choice.  Here  we  are 
"taught  not  to  destroy  our  children,  but  to  preserve 
"  them,  for  they,  reared  in  the  path  of  virtue  and 
"  trained  to  righteousness,  constitute  our  true  glory. 

"It  is  with  no  wish  to  accuse  our  sisters  who  are 
"  not  of  our  faith  that  we  so  speak  ;  but  we  are  deal- 
"  ing  with  facts  as  they  exist.  Wherever  monogamy 
"  reigns,  adultery,  prostitution  and  fceticide,  directly 
"  or  indirectly,  are  its  concomitants.  It  is  not  enough 
"  to  say  that  the  virtuous  and  high-minded  frown 
"  upon  these  evils.  We  believe  they  do.  But  frown- 
"ing  upon  them  does  not  cure  them;  it  does  not 
"even  check  their  rapid  growth  ;  either  the  remedy 
"  is  too  weak,  or  the  disease  is  too  strong.  The 
"women  of  Utah  comprehend  this ;  and  they  see,  in 
"the  principle  of  plurality  of  wives,  the  only  safe- 
"  guard  against  adultery,  prostitution,  and  the  reck- 
"  less  waste  of  pre-natal  life,  practiced  throughout 
"  the  land. 

"  It  is  as  co-workers  in  the  great  mission  of  uni- 
"  versal  reform,  not  only  in  our  own  behalf,  but  also, 
"  by  precept  and  example,  to  aid  in  the  emancipa- 
"  tion  of  our  sex  generally,  that  we  accept  in  our 


THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM.  397 

"  heart  of  hearts  what  we  know  to  be  a  divine  com- 
"  mandment :  and  here,  and  now,  boldly  and  pub- 
"  licly,  we  do  assert  our  right,  not  only  to  believe  in 
"  this  holy  commandment,  but  to  practice  what  we 
"  believe. 

"  While  these  are  our  views,  every  attempt  to 
"  force  that  obnoxious  measure  upon  us  must  of  ne- 
"  cessity  be  an  attempt  to  coerce  us  in  our  religious 
"and  moral  convictions,  against  which  did  we  not 
"most  solemnly  protest,  we  would  be  unworthy  the 
"  name  of  American  women." 

Mrs.  Hannah  T.  King  followed  with  a  stinging 
address  to  General  Cullom  himself.  She  said : 

"  My  Dear  Sisters :  I  wish  I  had  the  language  I 
"  feel  to  need,  at  the  present  moment,  to  truly  repre- 
"sent  the  indignant  feelings  of  my  heart  and  brain 
"on  reading,  as  I  did  last  evening,  a  string  of  thirty 
"  '  sections/  headed  by  the  words,  '  A  Bill  in  aid  of 
"the  Execution  of  the  Laws  in  the  Territory  of 
"  Utah,  and  for  other  purposes/  The  '  other  pur- 
"  poses '  contain  the  pith  of  the  matter,  and  the  ada- 
"  mantine  chains  that  the  author  of  the  said  bill  seeks 
"to  bind  this  people  with,  exceed  anything  that  the 
"feudal  times  of  England,  or  the  serfdom  of  Russia, 
"ever  laid  upon  human  beings.  My  sisters,  are  we 
"really  in  America — the  world-renowned  land  of 
"liberty,  freedom,  and  equal  rights? — the  land  of 
"  which  I  dreamed,  in  my  youth,  as  being  almost  an 
"earthly  elysium,  where  freedom  of  thought  and  re- 
"  ligious  liberty  were  open  to  all  ! — the  land  that 
"  Columbus  wore  his  noble  life  out  to  discover! — 
"  the  land  that  God  himself  helped  him  to  exhume, 
"and  to  aid  which  endeavor  Isabella,  a  queen,  a 


398  THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM. 

"  woman,  declared  she  would  pawn  her  jewels  and 
"  crown  of  Castile,  to  give  him  the  outfit  that  he 
"  needed  ! — the  land  of  Washington,  the  Father  of 
"  his  Country,  and  a  host  of  noble  spirits,  too  nu- 
"  merous  to  mention  ! — the  land  to  which  the  May- 
-flower bore  the  pilgrim  fathers,  who  rose  up  and 
"left  their  homes,  and  bade  their  native  home  'good 
"  night,'  simply  that  they  might  worship  God  by  a 
"  purer  and  holier  faith,  in  a  land  of  freedom  and 
"liberty,  of  which  the  name  America  has  long  been 
"synonymous!  Yes,  my  sisters,  this  is  America- 
"  but  oh  !  how  are  the  mighty  fallen  ! 

"Who,  or  what,  is  the  creature  who  framed  this 
"  incomparable  document  ?  Is  he  an  Esquimaux  or 
"  a  chimpanzee  ?  What  isolated  land  or  spot  pro- 
"  duced  him  ?  What  ideas  he  must  have  of  women  ! 
"Had  he  ever  a  mother,  a  wife,  or  a  sister?  In 
"  what  academy  was  he  tutored,  or  to  what  school 
"does  he  belong,  that  he  so  coolly  and  systematic- 
"  ally  commands  the  women  of  this  people  to  turn 
"  traitors  to  their  husbands,  their  brothers,  and  their 
"  sons  ?  Short-sighted  man  of  '  sections  '  and  '  the 
"  bill !'  Let  us,  the  women  of  this  people — the  sis- 
terhood of  Utah — rise  en  masse,  and  tell  this  non- 
"  descript  to  defer  '  the  bill  *  until  he  has  studied  the 
"  character  of  woman,  such  as  God  intended  she 
"  should  be ;  then  he  will  discover  that  devotion, 
"  veneration  and  faithfulness  are  her  peculiar  attri- 
"  butes  ;  that  God  is  her  refuge,  and  his  servants  her 
"oracles;  and  that,  especially,  the  women  of  Utah 
"  have  paid  too  high  a  price  for  their  present  posi- 
tion, their  present  light  and  knowledge,  and  their 
"  noble  future,  to  succumb  to  so  mean  and  foul  a 


THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM.  399 

"thing  as  Baskin,  Cullom  &  Co.'s  bill.  Let  him 
"learn  that  they  are  one  in  heart,  hand  and  brain, 
"with  the  brotherhood  of  Utah — that  God  is  their 
"  father  and  their  friend — that  into  his  hands  they 
"  commit  their  cause — and  on  their  pure  and  simple 
"banner  they  have  emblazoned  their  motto,  'God, 
"and  my  right!'" 

The  next  who  spoke  was  Phcebe  Woodruff,  who 
said  : 

"Ladies  of  Utah:  As  I  have  been  called  upon  to 
"  express  my  views  upon  the  important  subject  which 
"  has  called  us  together,  I  will  say  that  I  am  happy 
"  to  be  one  of  your  number  in  this  association.  I  am 
"proud  that  I  am  a  citizen  of  Utah,  and  a  member 
"  of  the  Church  of  Jesus  Christ  of  Latter-day  Saints. 
"  I  have  been  a  member  of  this  church  for  thirty-six 
"  years,  and  had  the  privilege  of  living  in  the  days 
"of  the  prophet  Joseph,  and  heard  his  teaching  for 
"  many  years.  He  ever  counseled  us  to  honor,  obey 
"  and  maintain  the  principles  of  our  noble  constitu- 
tion, for  which  our  fathers  fought,  and  which  many 
"  of  them  sacrificed  their  lives  to  establish.  Presi- 
"  dent  Brigham  Young  has  always  taught  the  same 
"  principle.  This  glorious  legacy  of  our  fathers,  the 
"  constitution  of  the  United  States,  guarantees  unto 
"  all  the  citizens  of  this  great  republic  the  right  to 
"  worship  God  according  to  the  dictates  of  their  own 
"  consciences,  as  it  expressly  says,  '  Congress  shall 
"  make  no  laws  respecting  an  establishment  of  reli- 
"  gion,  or  prohibiting  the  free  exercise  thereof/ 
"  Cullom's  bill  is  in  direct  violation  of  this  declara- 
tion of  the  constitution,  and  I  think  it  is  our  duty 
"  to  do  all  in  our  power,  by  our  voices  and  influence, 


4OO  THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM. 

"  to  thwart  the  passage  of  this  bill,  which  commits  a 
"  violent  outrage  upon  our  rights,  and  the  rights  of 
"  our  fathers,  husbands  and  sons  ;  and  whatever  may 
"be  the  final  result  of  the  action  of  Congress  in 
"  passing  or  enforcing  oppressive  laws,  for  the  sake 
"  of  our  religion,  upon  the  noble  men  who  have  sub- 
"  dued  these  deserts,  it  is  our  duty  to  stand  by  them 
"  and  support  them  by  our  faith,  prayers  and  works, 
"  through  every  dark  hour,  unto  the  end,  and  trust 
"  in  the  God  of  Abraham,  Isaac  and  Jacob  to  defend 
"  us  and  all  who  are  called  to  suffer  for  keeping  the 
"  commandments  of  God.  Shall  we,  as  wives  and 
"  mothers,  sit  still  and  see  our  husbands  and  sons, 
"whom  we  know  are  obeying  the  highest  behest  of 
"  heaven,  suffer  for  their  religion,  without  exerting 
"  ourselves  to  the  extent  of  our  power  for  their  de- 
liverance? No;  verily  no!  God  has  revealed 
"  unto  us  the  law  of  the  patriarchal  order  of  mar- 
"  riage,  and  commanded  us  to  obey  it.  We  are 
"  sealed  to  our  husbands  for  time  and  eternity,  that 
"we  may  dwell  with  them  and  our  children  in  the 
"world  to  come;  which  guarantees  unto  us  the 
"  greatest  blessing  for  which  we  are  created.  If  the 
"  rulers  of  the  nation  will  so  far  depart  from  the  spirit 
"  and  letter  of  our  glorious  constitution  as  to  de- 
"  prive  our  prophets,  apostles  and  elders  of  citizen- 
"  ship,  and  imprison  them  for  obeying  this  law,  let 
"  them  grant  this,  our  last  request,  to  make  their 
"  prisons  large  enough  to  hold  their  wives,  for  where 
"  they  go  we  will  go  also." 

Sisters  M.  I.  Home  and  Eleanor  M.  Pratt  followed 
with  appropriate  words,  and  then  Sister  Eliza  R. 
Snow  made  the  following  remarks : 


THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM.  40! 

My  remarks  in  conclusion  will  be  brief.  I  heard 
"the  prophet  Joseph  Smith  say,  if  the  people  rose 
"  and  mobbed  us  and  the  authorities  countenanced 
"it,  they  would  have  mobs  to  their  hearts'  content 
"  I  heard  him  say  that  the  time  would  come  when 
"  this  nation  would  so  far  depart  from  its  original 
"  purity,  its  glory,  and  its  love  of  freedom  and  pro- 
'  tection  of  civil  and  religious  rights,  that  the  con- 
stitution of  our  country  would  hang  as  it  were  by 
"a  thread.  He  said,  also,  that  this  people, the  sons 
"of  Zion,  would  rise  up  and  save  the  constitution, 
"and  bear  it  off  triumphantly. 

"  The  spirit  of  freedom  and  liberty  we  should 
"always  cultivate,  and  it  is  what  mothers  should 
"  inspire  in  the  breasts  of  their  sons,  that  they  may 
"grow  up  brave  and  noble,  and  defenders  of  that 
"  glorious  constitution  which  has  been  bequeathed 
"unto  us.  Let  mothers  cultivate  that  spirit  in 
"  their  own  bosoms.  Let  them  manifest  their  own 
"bravery,  and  cherish  a  spirit  of  encountering  diffi- 
"culties,  because  they  have  to  be  met,  more  or 
"less,  in  every  situation  of  life.  If  fortitude  and 
"nobility  of  soul  be  cultivated  in  your  own  bosoms, 
"you  will  transmit  them  to  your  children;  your 
"  sons  will  grow  up  noble  defenders  of  truth  and 
"righteousness,  and  heralds  of  salvation  to  the  na- 
"  tions  of  the  earth.  They  will  be  prepared  to  fill 
"  high  and  responsible  religious,  judicial,  civil  and 
"  executive  positions.  I  consider  it  most  important, 
"  my  sisters,  that  we  should  struggle  to  preserve 
"the  sacred  constitution  of  our  country — one  of 
"  the  blessings  of  the  Almighty,  for  the  same  spirit 
"  that  inspired  Joseph  Smith,  inspired  the  framers 

26 


4O2  THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM. 

"of  the  constitution;  and  we  should  ever  hold  it 
"sacred,  and  bear  it  off  triumphantly." 

Mrs.  Zina  D.  Young  then  moved  that  the  meeting 
adjourn  sine  die,  which  was  carried,  and  Mrs.  Phcebe 
Woodruff  pronounced  the  benediction. 


CHAPTER   XLIV. 

WIVES    OF     THE     APOSTLES MRS.    ORSON    HYDE INCI- 
DENTS    OF     THE     EARLY     DAYS THE     PROPHET 

MARY     ANN     PRATT*S    LIFE    STORY WIFE    OF    GEN. 

CHARLES   C.  RICH MRS.    FRANKLIN    D.  RICHARDS 

PHCEBE     WOODRUFF LEONORA     TAYLOR MARIAN 

ROSS    PRATT THE  WIFE  OF    DELEGATE    CANNON 

VILATE    KIMBALL    AGAIN. 

The  life  of  Mrs.  Orson  Hyde  is  replete  with  inci- 
dents of  the  early  days,  including  the  shameful 
occurrence  of  the  tarring  and  feathering  of  the 
prophet,  which  took  place  while  he  was  at  her 
father's  house. 

Her  maiden  name  was  Marinda  M.  Johnson,  she 
being  the  daughter  of  John  and  Elsa  Johnson,  a 
family  well  known  among  the  pioneer  converts  of 
Ohio.  She  was  born  in  Pomfret,  Windsor  county, 
Vermont,  June  28,  1815. 

"In  February  of  1818,"  she  says,  "my  father,  in 
"  company  with  several  families  from  the  same  place, 
"emigrated  to  Hiram,  Portage  county,  Ohio.  In 
"the  winter  of  1831,  Ezra  Booth,  a  Methodist  min- 
"  ister,  procured  a  copy  of  the  Book  of  Mormon 
"  and  brought  it  to  my  father's  house.  They  sat  up 
41  all  night  reading  it,  and  were  very  much  exercised 


404  THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM. 

"  over  it.  As  soon  as  they  heard  that  Joseph  Smith 
"  had  arrived  in  Kirtland,  Mr.  Booth  and  wife  and 
"  my  father  and  mother  went  immediately  to  see 
"  him.  They  were  convinced  and  baptized  before 
"they  returned.  They  invited  the  prophet  and 
"  Elder  Rigdon  to  accompany  them  home,  which 
"  they  did,  and  preached  several  times  to  crowded 
"congregations,  baptizing  quite  a  number.  I  was 
"  baptized  in  April  following.  The  next  fall  Joseph 
"  came  with  his  family  to  live  at  my  father's  house. 
"  He  was  at  that  time  translating  the  Bible,  and 
"  Elder  Rigdon  was  acting  as  scribe.  The  following 
"spring,  a  mob,  disguising  themselves  as  black  men, 
"gathered  and  burst  into  his  sleeping  apartment  one 
"  night,  and  dragged  him  from  the  bed  where  he  was 
"  nursing  a  sick  child.  They  also  went  to  the  house 
"of  Elder  Rigdon,  and  took  him  out  with  Joseph 
"into  an  orchard,  where,  after  choking  and  beating 
"them,  they  tarred  and  feathered  them,  and  left 
"  them  nearly  dead.  My  father,  at  the  first  onset, 
"started  to  the  rescue,  but  was  knocked  down,  and 
"lay  senseless  for  some  time.  Here  I  feel  like  bear- 
"  ing  my  testimony  that  during  the  whole  year  that 
"Joseph  was  an  inmate  of  my  father's  house  I  never 
"saw  aught  in  his  daily  life  or  conversation  to  make 
"me  doubt  his  divine  mission. 

"In  1833  we  moved  to  Kirtland,  and  in  1834  I 
"was  married  to  Orson  Hyde,  and  became  fully 
"initiated  into  the  cares  and  duties  of  a  missionary's 
"wife,  my  husband  in  common  with  most  of  the 
"elders  giving  his  time  and  energies  to  the  work  of 
"  the  ministry. 

"  In  the  summer  of  1837,  leaving  me  with  a  three- 


THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM.  405 

"  weeks  old  babe,  he,  in  company  with  Heber  C. 
"  Kimball  and  others,  went  on  their  first  mission  to 
"  England.  Shortly  after  his  return,  in  the  summer 
"of  1838,  we,  in  company  with  several  other  fami- 
"  lies,  went  to  Missouri,  where  we  remained  till  the 
"next  spring.  We  then  went  to  Nauvoo.  In  the 
"spring  of  1840  Mr.  Hyde  went  on  his  mission  to 
"  Palestine ;  going  in  the  apostolic  style,  without 
"  purse  or  scrip,  preaching  his  way,  and  when  all 
"other  channels  were  closed,  teaching  the  English 
"  language  in  Europe,  till  he  gained  sufficient  money 
"  to  take  him  to  the  Holy  Land,  where  he  offered 
"up  his  prayer  on  the  Mount  of  Olives,  and  dedi- 
"cated  Jerusalem  to  the  gathering  of  the  Jews  in 
"this  dispensation.  Having  accomplished  a  three- 
"  years  mission,  he  returned,  and  shortly  after,  in 
"  accordance  with  the  revelation  on  celestial  mar- 
"  riage,  and  with  my  full  consent,  married  two  more 
"wives.  At  last  we  were  forced  to  flee  from  Nau- 
"  voo,  and  in  the  spring  of  1846,  we  made  our  way 
"  to  Council  Bluffs,  where  our  husband  left  us  to  go 
"again  on  mission  to  England.  On  his  return,  in 
"the  fall  of  1847,  he  was  appointed  to  take  charge 
"of  the  saints  in  the  States,  and  to  send  off  the 
"  emigration  as  fast  as  it  arrived  in  a  suitable  con- 
"  dition  on  the  frontiers;  also  to  edit  a  paper  in  the 
"  church  interest,  the  name  of  which  was  Frontier 
"  Guardian. 

"  In  the  summer  of  1852  we  brought  our  family 
"safely  through  to  Salt  Lake  City,  where  we  have 
"had  peace  and  safety  ever  since. 

"In  1868  I  was  chosen  to  preside  over  the  branch 
"  of  the  Female  Relief  Society  of  the  ward  in 


406  THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM. 

"which  I  reside,  the  duties  of  which  position  I  have 
"prayerfully  attempted  to  perform." 


Mary  Ann  Pratt  deserves  mention  next.  It  will 
be  remembered  that  the  apostle  Parley  P.  Pratt  lost 
his  first  wife  at  the  birth  of  his  eldest  son.  He 
afterwards  married  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  and 
she  becomes  historically  important  from  the  fact 
that  she  was  one  of  the  first  of  those  self-subduing 
women  who  united  with  their  husbands  in  estab- 
lishing the  law  of  celestial  marriage,  or  the  "  Patri- 
archal Order."  She  gave  to  her  husband  other  wives. 
Taking  up  the  story  of  her  life  with  her  career  as  a 
Latter-day  Saint,  she  says : 

"  I  was  baptized  into  the  Church  of  Jesus  Christ 
"of  Latter-day  Saints  in  the  spring  of  1835,  being 
"convinced  of  the  truthfulness  of  its  doctrines  by 
"the  first  sermon  I  heard;  and  I  said  in  my  heart, 
"  if  there  are  only  three  who  hold  firm  to  the  faith, 
"  I  will  be  one  of  that  number ;  and  through  all  the 
"persecution  I  have  had  to  endure  I  have  ever  felt 
"  the  same ;  my  heart  has  never  swerved  from  that 
"  resolve. 

"  I  was  married  to  Parley  P.  Pratt  in  the  spring 
"of  1837,  and  moving  to  Missouri,  endured  with 
"  him  the  persecution  of  the  saints,  so  often  recorded 
"in  history.  When  my  husband  was  taken  by  a 
"  mob,  in  the  city  of  Far  West,  Mo.,  and  carried  to 
"  prison,  I  was  confined  to  my  bed  with  raging  fever, 
"  and  not  able  to  help  myself  at  all,  with  a  babe 
"  three  months  old  and  my  little  girl  of  five  years ; 


THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM.  407 

"but  I  cried  mightily  to  the  Lord  for  strength  to 
"  endure,  and  he  in  mercy  heard  my  prayer  and  car- 
ried me  safely  through.  In  a  few  days  word  came 
"  to  me  that  my  husband  was  in  prison  and  in  chains. 
"  As  soon  as  my  health  was  sufficiently  restored  I 
"took  my  children  and  went  to  him.  I  found  him 
"  released  from  his  chains,  an  \  was  permitted  to 
"  remain  with  him.  I  shared  his  dungeon,  which 
"was  a  damp,  dark,  filthy  place, without  ventilation, 
"merely  having  a  small  grating  on  one  side.  In 
"  this  we  were  obliged  to  sleep. 

"  About  the  middle  of  March  I  bid  adieu  to  my 
"  beloved  companion,  and  returned  to  Far  West  to 
"  make  preparations  for  leaving  the  State.  Through 
"  the  kind  assistance  of  Brother  David  W.  Rogers 
"  (now  an  aged  resident  of  Provo),  I  removed  to 
"  Quincy,  111.,  where  I  remained  until  the  arrival  of 
"  Mr.  Pratt,  after  his  fortunate  escape  from  prison, 
"  where  he  had  been  confined  eight  months  without 
"  any  just  cause. 

"  Passing  briefly  over  the  intervening  years,  in 
"  which  I  accompanied  my  husband  on  various  mis- 
"  sions,  first  to  New  York,  and  thence  to  England, 
"  where  I  remained  two  years ;  and,  returning  to 
"  Nauvoo,  our  sojourn  in  that  beautiful  city  a  few 
"  years,  and  our  final  expulsion,  and  the  final  weary 
"gathering  to  Utah;  I  hasten  to  bear  my  testi- 
"  mony  to  the  world  that  this  is  the  church  and 
"  people  of  God,  and  I  pray  that  I  may  be  found 
"  worthy  of  a  place  in  his  celestial  kingdom." 

The  tragedy  of  the  close  of  the  mortal  career  of 
Parley  P.  Pratt  is  still  fresh  in  the  public  mind.  It 
is  one  of  the  terrible  chapters  of  Mormon  his- 


408  THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM. 

tory  which   the  pen  of  his  wife  has  not  dared  to 
touch. 


Another  of  these  "  first  wives  "  is  presented  in  the 
person  of  Sister  Rich. 

Sarah  D.  P.  Rich,  wife  of  Gen.  Chas.  C.  Rich,  and 
daughter  of  John  and  Elizabeth  Pea,  was  born 
September  23d,  1814,  in  St.  Clair  county,  111.  In 
December,  1 835,  she  became  a  member  of  the  Church 
of  Latter-day  Saints,  and  had  the  pleasure  shortly 
after  of  seeing  her  father's  family,  with  a  single  ex- 
ception, converted  to  the  same  faith.  In  1837  they 
removed  to  Far  West,  Mo.,  where  the  saints  were 
at  that  time  gathering.  At  this  place  she  for  the  first 
time  met  Mr.  Rich,  to  whom  she  was  married  on 
the  nth  of  February,  1838.  During  the  autumn  of 
1838,  the  mob  having  driven  many  of  the  saints 
from  their  homes  in  the  vicinity,  she  received  into 
her  house  and  sheltered  no  less  than  seven  families 
of  the  homeless  outcasts.  Among  the  number  was 
the  family  of  Apostle  Page,  and  it  was  during  her 
sojourn  with  Mrs.  Rich  that  Apostle  Page's  wife 
died.  Mrs.  R.  stood  in  her  door  and  saw  the  infa- 
mous mob-leader  and  Methodist  preacher,  Bogard, 
shoot  at  her  husband  as  he  was  returning  from  the 
mob  camp  under  a  flag-  of  truce.  That  night  Mr. 
Rich  was  compelled  to  flee  for  his  life,  and  she  did 
not  see  him  again  until  she  joined  him  three  months 
later,  on  the  bank  of  the  Mississippi,  opposite 
Quincy.  They  made  the  crossing  in  a  canoe,  the 
river  being  so  full  of  ice  that  the  regular  ferry-boat 
could  not  be  used.  From  this  place  they  removed 


THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM  409 

to  Nauvoo,  where  she  remained  daring  all  the  suc- 
ceeding persecutions  and  trials  of  the  church,  until 
February,  1846,  when  they  were  forced  to  leave, 
which  they  did,  with  her  three  small  children,  cross- 
ing the  Mississippi  on  the  ice.  Journeying  west- 
ward to  Mount  Pisgah,  Iowa,  they  remained  during 
the  following  season,  and  planted  and  harvested  a 
crop  of  corn.  In  the  spring  of  1847  they  removed 
to  winter  quarters,  and  six  weeks  afterwards  started 
out  on  the  weary  journey  across  the  plains.  She 
arrived  in  Salt  Lake  Valley  on  the  2d  of  October, 
1847,  with  the  second  company  of  emigrants,  of 
which  her  husband  was  the  leadei. 

Since  that  time  she  has  resided  continually  in 
Salt  Lake  City,  with  the  exception  of  a  short  so- 
journ in  Bear  Lake  Valley,  and  has  endured  without 
complaint  all  of  the  trials,  privations  and  hardships 
incident  to  the  settlement  of  Utah.  She  is  the 
mother  of  nine  children,  and  is  well  known  as  the 
friend  of  the  poor,  the  nurse  of  the  sick,  and  the 
counselor  of  the  friendless  and  oppressed  among 
the  people ;  and  it  is  needless  to  add  that  she  has 
passed  her  life  in  the  advocacy  and  practice  of  the 
principles  of  that  gospel  which  she  embraced  in  the 
days  of  her  youth. 


Mrs.  Jane  S.  Richards,  wife  of  the  distinguished 
apostle,  Franklin  D.  Richards,  and  daughter  of  Isaac 
and  Louisa  Snyder,  was  born  January  3ist,  1823,  in 
Pamelia,  Jefferson  county,  N.  Y.  The  prophet  and 
pilot  of  her  father's  house  into  the  church  was 
Elder  John  E.  Page,  who  brought  to  them  the  gos- 


4IO  THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM. 

pel  in  1837,  while  they  were  living  near  Kingston, 
Canada.  The  family  started  thence  for  Far  West, 
Mo.,  in  1839,  but  were  compelled  by  sickness  to  stop 
at  La  Porte,  Indiana.  Here,  through  the  faithful 
ministrations  of  her  brother  Robert,  she  was  restored 
from  the  effects  of  a  paralytic  stroke,  and  immedi- 
ately embraced  the  faith.  In  the  autumn  following 
(1840)  she  first  saw  young  Elder  Richards,  then  on 
his  first  mission.  In  1842,  after  her  father's  family 
had  moved  to  Nauvoo,  she  was  married  to  Mr. 
Richards.  In  the  journey  of  the  saints  into  the 
wilderness,  after  their  expulsion  from  Nauvoo,  she 
drank  to  the  bitter  dregs  the  cup  of  hardship  and 
affliction,  her  husband  being  absent  on  mission  and 
she  being  repeatedly  prostrated  with  sickness.  At 
winter  quarters  President  Young  said  to  her,  "  It 
may  truly  be  -said,  if  any  have  come  up  through 
great  tribulation  from  Nauvoo,  you  have."  There 
her  little  daughter  died,  and  was  the  first  to  be  in- 
terred in  that  memorable  burying  ground  of  the 
saints.  Here  also  her  husband's  wife,  Elizabeth, 
died,  despite  the  faithful  efforts  of  friends,  and  had 
it  not  been  for  their  unwearied  attentions,  Jane  also 
would  have  sunk  under  her  load  of  affliction  and 
sorrow. 

In  1848,  Mr.  Richards  having  returned  from  mis- 
sion, they  gathered  to  the  valley.  In  1849  sne  gave 
her  only  sister  to  her  husband  in  marriage.  From 
that  time  forth  until  their  removal  to  Ogden,  in 
1869,  hers  was  the  fortune  of  a  missionary's  wife,  her 
husband  being  almost  constantly  on  mission.  In 
1872  she  accepted  the  presidency  of  the  Ogden  Re- 
lief Society,  which  she  has  since  very  acceptably 


THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM.  4!  I 

filled.  Among  the  noteworthy  items  of  interest 
connected  with  her  presidency  of  this  society,  was 
the  organization  of  the  young  ladies  of  Ogden  into 
a  branch  society  for  the  purpose  of  retrenchment 
and  economy  in  dress,  moral,  mental  and  spiritual 
improvement,  etc.,  which  has  been  most  successfully 
continued,  and  is  now  collaterally  supported  by 
many  branch  societies  in  the  county.  But  her  labors 
have  not  been  confined  to  Ogden  alone.  She  has 
been  appointed  to  preside  over  the  societies  of 
Weber  county ;  and,  as  a  sample  of  her  efforts,  we 
may  instance  that  she  has  established  the  manufac- 
ture of  home-made  straw  bonnets  and  hats,  which 
industry  has  furnished  employment  to  many.  Her 
heart  and  home  have  ever  been  open  to  the  wants 
of  the  needy;  and  the  sick  and  afflicted  have  been 
the  objects  of  her  continual  care. 


The  closing  words  of  the  wife  of  Apostle  Wood- 
ruff, at  the  grand  mass-meeting  of  the  women  of 
Utah,  have  in  them  a  ring  strongly  suggestive  of 
what  must  have  been  the  style  of  speech  of  those 
women  of  America  who  urged  their  husbands  and 
sons  to  resist  the  tyranny  of  George  III.;  throw  off 
the  yoke  of  colonial  servitude,  and  prove  themselves 
worthy  of  national  independence. 

Phoebe  W.  Carter  was  born  in  Scarboro,  in  the 
State  of  Maine,  March  8th,  1807.  Her  father  was 
of  English  descent,  connecting  with  America  at 
about  the  close  of  the  seventeenth  century.  Her 
mother,  Sarah  Fabyan,  was  of  the  same  place,  and 


412  THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM. 

three  generations  from  England.  The  name  of 
Fabyan  was  one  of  the  noblest  names  of  Rome,  ere 
England  was  a  nation,  and  that  lofty  tone  and 
strength  of  character  so  marked  in  the  wife  of 
Apostle  Woodruff  was  doubtless  derived  from  the 
Fabyans,  Phoebe  being  of  her  mother's  stamp. 

In  the  year  1834  she  embraced  the  gospel,  and, 
about  a  year  after,  left  her  parents  and  kindred  and 
journeyed  to  Kirtland,  a  distance  of  one  thousand 
miles — a  lone  maid,  sustained  only  by  a  lofty  faith 
and  trust  in  Israel's  God.  In  her  characteristic 
Puritan  language  she  says : 

'  My  friends  marveled  at  my  course,  as  did  I,  but 
"  something  within  impelled  me  on.  My  mother's 
"  grief  at  my  leaving  home  was  almost  more  than  I 
"  could  bear ;  and  had  it  not  been  for  the  spirit 
"  within  I  should  have  faltered  at  the  last.  My 
"  mother  told  me  she  would  rather  see  me  buried 
"  than  going  thus  alone  out  into  the  heartless  world. 
" '  Phoebe;  she  said,  impressively,  '  will  you  come 
"  back  to  me  if  you  find  Mormonism  false  ?'  I 
"  answered, '  yes,  mother ;  I  will,  thrice.'  These  were 
"  my  words,  and  she  knew  I  woulol  keep  my  promise. 
"  My  answer  relieved  her  trouble  ;  but  it  cost  us  all 
"  much  sorrow  to  part.  When  the  time  came  for 
"  my  departure  I  dared  not  trust  myself  to  say  fare- 
"  well  ;  so  I  wrote  my  good-byes  to  each,  and  leav- 
"  ing  them  on  my  table,  ran  down  stairs  and  jumped 
"  into  the  carriage.  Thus  I  left  the  beloved  home 
"  of  my  childhood  to  link  my  life  with  the  saints  of 
"  God. 

"  When  I  arrived  in  Kirtland  I  became  acquainted 
"  with  the  prophet,  Joseph  Smith,  and  received  more 


THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM.  413 

"  evidence  of  his  divine  mission.  There  in  Kirtland 
"  I  formed  the  acquaintance  of  Elder  Wilford  Wood- 
"  ruff,  to  whom  I  was  married  in  1836.  With  him  I 
"  went  to  the  '  islands  of  the  sea/  and  to  England, 
"  on  missions. 

"  When  the  principle  of  polygamy  was  first  taught 
"  I  thought  it  the  most  wicked  thing  I  ever  heard  of; 
"  consequently  I  opposed  it  to  the  best  of  my  abil- 
"  ity,  until  I  became  sick  and  wretched.  As  soon, 
"  however,  as  I  became  convinced  that  it  originated 
"  as  a  revelation  from  God  through  Joseph,  and 
"  knowing  him  to  be  a  prophet,  I  wrestled  with  my 
"  Heavenly  Father  in  fervent  prayer,  to  be  guided 
"  aright  at  that  all-important  moment  of  my  life. 
"  The  answer  came.  Peace  was  given  to  my  mind. 
"  I  knew  it  was  the  will  of  God ;  and  from  that  time 
"  to  the  present  I  have  sought  to  faithfully  honor 
"  the  patriarchal  law. 

"  Of  Joseph,  my  testimony  is  that  he  was  one  of 
"  the  greatest  prophets  the  Lord  ever  called ;  that 
"  he  lived  for  the  redemption  of  mankind,  and  died 
"  a  martyr  for  the  truth.  The  love  of  the  saints  for 
"  him  will  never  die. 

"It  was  after  the  martyrdom  of  Joseph  that  I 
"accompanied  my  husband  to  England,  in  1845. 
"  On  our  return  the  advance  companies  of  the  saints 
"  had  just  left  Nauvoo  under  President  Young  and 
"  others  of  the  twelve.  We  followed  immediately 
"  and  journeyed  to  winter  quarters. 

"  The  next  year  Wilford  went  with  the  pioneers 
"  to  the  mountains,  while  the  care  of  the  family  de- 
"  volved  on  me.  After  his  return,  and  the  reorgan- 
"  izatlon  of  the  first  presidency,  I  accompanied  my 


414  THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM. 

"  husband  on  his  mission  to  the  Eastern  States.  In 
"  1850  we  arrived  in  the  valley,  and  since  that  time 
"  Salt  Lake  City  has  been  my  home. 

"  Of  my  husband  I  can  truly  say,  I  have  found 
"  him  a  worthy  man,  with  scarcely  his  equal  on  earth. 
"  He  has  built  up  a  branch  wherever  he  has  labored. 
"He  has  been  faithful  to  God  and  his  family  every 
"  day  of  his  life.  My  respect  for  him  has  increased 
"  with  our  years,  and  my  desire  for  an  eternal  union 
"  with  him  will  be  the  last  wish  of  my  mortal  life." 

Sister  Phcebe  is  one  of  the  noblest  of  her  sex — a 
mother  in  Israel.  And  in  her  strength  of  character, 
consistency,  devotion,  and  apostolic  cast,  she  is  sec- 
ond to  none. 


A  most  worthy  peer  of  sister  Woodruff  was  Leo- 
nora, the  wife  of  Apostle  John  Taylor.  She  was  the 
daughter  of  Capt.  Cannon,  of  the  Isle  of  Man,  Eng- 
land, and  sister  of  the  father  of  George  Q.  Cannon. 
She  left  England  for  Canada,  as  a  companion  to  the 
wife  of  the  secretary  of  the  colony,  but  with  the  inten- 
tion of  returning.  While  in  Canada,  however,  she  met 
Elder  Taylor,  then  a  Methodist  minister,  whose  wife 
she  afterwards  became.  They  were  married  in  1833. 
She  was  a  God-fearing  woman,  and,  as  we  have  seen, 
was  the  first  to  receive  Parley  P.  Pratt  into  her 
house  when  on  his  mission  to  Canada.  In  the  spring 
of  1838  she  gathered  with  her  husband  and  two 
children  to  Kirtland.  Thence  they  journeyed  to 
Far  West.  She  was  in  the  expulsion  from  Missouri ; 
bore  the  burden  of  her  family  in  Nauvoo,  as  a  mis- 
sionary's wife,  while  her  husband  was  in  England ; 


THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM.  415 

felt  the  stroke  of  the  martyrdom,  in  which  her  hus- 
band was  terribly  wounded  ;  was  in  the  exodus  ;  was 
then  left  at  winter  quarters  while  her  husband  went 
on  his  second  mission  to  England;  but  he  returned 
In  time  for  them  to  start  with  the  first  companies 
that  followed  the  pioneers.  Sister  Leonora  was 
therefore  among  the  earliest  women  of  Utah. 

When  the  prospect  came,  at  the  period  of  the 
Utah  war,  that  the  saints  would  have  to  leave 
American  soil,  and  her  husband  delivered  those 
grand  patriotic  discourses  to  his  people  that  will 
ever  live  in  Mormon  history,  Sister  Taylor  nobly 
supported  his  determination  with  the  rest  of  the 
saints  to  put  the  torch  to  their  homes,  rather  than 
submit  to  invasion  and  the  renunciation  of  their 
liberties.  She  died  in  the  month  of  December, 
1867.  Hers  was  a  faithful  example,  and  she  has 
left  an  honored  memory  among  her  people. 


Marian  Ross,  wife  of  Apostle  Orson  Pratt,  is  a  na- 
tive of  Scotland,  and  was  reared  among  the  High- 
lands. When  about  seventeen  years  of  age  she  vis- 
ited her  relatives  in  Edinburgh,  where  Mormonism 
was  first  brought  to  her  attention.  She  was  shortly 
afterwards  baptized  near  the  harbor  of  Leith,  on 
the  27th  of  August,  1847.  A  singular  feature  of 
Mrs.  Pratt's  experience  was  that  in  a  dream  she  was 
distinctly  shown  her  future  husband,  then  on  his 
mission  to  Scotland.  When  she  saw  him  she  at 
once  recognized  him.  She  made  her  home  at  Apos- 
tle Pratt's  house  in  Liverpool,  for  a  short  time,  and 


416  THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM. 

then  emigrated  to  America,  in  1851.  After  being  in 
Salt  Lake  City  a  few  months  she  was  married  to 
Mr.  Pratt.  She  testifies,  "  I  have  been  in  polygamy 
"  twenty-five  years,  and  have  never  seen  the  hour 
"  when  I  have  regretted  that  I  was  in  it.  I  would 
"  not  change  my  position  for  anything  earthly,  no 
"  matter  how  grand  and  gorgeous  it  might  be ;  even 
"  were  it  for  the  throne  of  a  queen.  For  a  surety  do 
"  I  know  that  my  Redeemer  liveth,  and  that  he  is  a 
"  prayer-hearing  and  prayer-answering  God." 


Another  of  these  apostolic  women,  who  with  their 
husbands  founded  Utah,  is  the  wife  of  Albert  Car- 
rington.  She  was  also  in  the  valley  in  1847.  Her 
grand  example  and  words  to  Captain  Van  Vliet, 
when  the  saints  were  resolving  on  another  exodus, 
have  been  already  recorded.  A  volume  written 
could  not  make  her  name  more  imperishable. 


Nor  must  Artimisa,  the  first  wife  of  Erastus 
Snow,  who  is  so  conspicuous  among  the  founders  of 
St.  George,  be  forgotten.  She  is  one  of  the  honor- 
able women  of  Utah,  and  the  part  she  has  sustained, 
with  her  husband,  in  building  up  the  southern  coun- 
try, has  been  that  of  self-sacrifice,  endurance,  and 
noble  example. 

Mention  should  also  be  made  of  Elizabeth,  daugh- 
ter of  the  late  Bishop  Hoagland,  and  first  wife  of 


THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM.  417 

George  Q.  Cannon.  She  has  borne  the  burden  of 
the  day  as  a  missionary's  wife,  and  has  also  accom- 
panied her  husband  on  mission  to  England ;  but  her 
most  noteworthy  example  was  in  her  truly  noble 
conduct  in  standing  by  her  husband  in  those  infa- 
mous persecutions  of  the  politicians,  over  the  ques- 
tion of  polygamy,  in  their  efforts  to  prevent  him 
taking  his  seat  in  Congress. 


Here  let  us  also  speak  of  the  death  of  Sister  Vilate 
Kimball,  whose  history  has  been  given  somewhat  at 
length  in  previous  chapters.  After  sharing  with  her 
husband  and  the  saints  the  perils  and  hardships  of 
the  exodus,  and  the  journey  across  the  plains,  and 
after  many  years  of  usefulness  to  her  family  and 
friends,  she  died  Oct.  22d,  1867.  She  was  mourned 
by  none  more  sincerely  than  by  her  husband,  who, 
according  to  his  words,  spoken  over  her  remains, 
was  "  not  long  after  her." 


27 


CHAPTER    XLV. 

MORMON    WOMEN    OF    MARTHA    WASHINGTON^    TIME 

AUNT     RHODA      RICHARDS WIFE     OF     THE     FIRST 

MORMON    BISHOP HONORABLE    WOMEN    OF    ZION. 

The  heroic  conduct  of  the  Mormon  women,  in 
their  eventful  history,  is  not  strange,  nor  their 
trained  sentiments  of  religious  liberty  exaggerated 
in  the  action  of  their  lives  ;  for  it  must  not  be  for- 
gotten that  many  a  sister  among  the  Latter-day 
Saints  had  lived  in  the  time  of  the  Revolution,  and 
had  shown  examples  not  unworthy  of  Martha 
Washington  herself.  Of  course  those  women  of 
the  Revolution  are  now  sleeping  with  the  just,  for 
nearly  fifty  years,  have  passed  since  the  rise  of  the 
church,  but  there  are  still  left  those  who  can  remem- 
ber the  father  of  their  country,  and  the  mothers 
who  inspired  the  war  of  independence.  We  have 
such  an  one  to  present  in  the  person  of  Aunt  Rhoda 
Richards,  the  sister  of  Willard,  the  apostle,  and  first 
cousin  of  Brigham  Young. 

Scarcely  had  the  British  evacuated  New  York, 
and  Washington  returned  to  his  home  at  Mount 
Vernon,  when  Rhoda  Richards  was  born.  She  was 
the  sister  of  Phineas,  Levi,  and  Willard  Richards — 
three  of  illustrious  memory  in  the  Mormon  Church 


THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM.  419 

— was  born  August  8th,  1784,  at  Hopkington,  Mass., 
and  now,  at  the  advanced  age  of  ninety-three,  thus 
speaks  of  her  life  and  works.  She  says  : 

"  During  the  early  years  of  my  life  I  was  much 
"  afflicted  with  sickness,  but,  through  the  mercies 
"  and  blessings  of  my  Heavenly  Father,  at  the  ad- 
"  vanced  age  of  nearly  ninety-three,  I  live,  and  am 
*'  privileged  to  bear  my  individual  testimony,  that 
41  for  myself  I  know  that  Joseph  Smith  was  a  true 
"  prophet  of  the  living  God ;  and  that  the  work 
"  which  he,  as  an  humble  instrument  in  the  hands  of 
"  God,  commenced  in  this,  the  evening  of  time,  will 
"  not  be  cut  short,  save  as  the  Lord  himself,  accord- 
41  ing  to  his  promise,  shall  cut  short  his  work  in  right- 
41  eousness. 

"  My  first  knowledge  of  the  Mormons  was  gained 
"  through  my  cousin,  Joseph  Young,  though  I  had 
"  previously  heard  many  strange  things  concerning 
"  them.  I  lay  on  a  bed  of  sickness,  unable  to  sit  up, 
"when  Cousin  Joseph  came  to  visit  at  my  father's 
"  house.  I  remember  distinctly  how  cautiously  my 
"  mother  broached  the  subject  of  the  new  religion 
"  to  him.  Said  she,  '  Joseph,  I  have  heard  that  some 
"  of  the  children  of  my  sister,  Abigail  Young,  have 
"  joined  the  Mormons.  How  is  it  ?'  Joseph  replied, 
"  '  It  is  true,  Aunt  Richards,  and  I  am  one  of  them !' 
"  It  was  Sabbath  day,  and  in  the  morning  Cousin 
"  Joseph  attended  church  with  my  parents  ;  but  in 
"  the  afternoon  he  chose  to  remain  with  my  brother 
"  William,  and  myself,  at  home.  He  remarked  that 
"  he  could  not  enjoy  the  meeting,  and  in  reply  I  said, 
"' I  do  not  see  why  we  might  not  have  a  meeting 
"  here.'  My  cousin  was  upon  his  feet  in  an  instant, 


42O  THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM. 

"  and  stood  and  preached  to  us — my  brother  and 
"  myself — for  about  half  an  hour,  finishing  his  dis- 
"  course  with,  '  There,  Cousin  Rhoda,  I  don't  know 
"  but  I  have  tired  you  out !'  When  he  sat  down  I 
"  remarked  that  meetings  usually  closed  with  prayer. 
"  In  an  instant  he  was  on  his  knees,  offering  up  a 
"  prayer.  That  was  the  first  Mormon  sermon  and 
"  the  first  Mormon  prayer  I  ever  listened  to.  I 
"  weighed  his  words  and  sentences  well.  It  was 
"  enough.  My  soul  was  convinced  of  the  truth. 
"  But  I  waited  a  year  before  being  baptized.  Dur- 
"  ing  that  time  I  read  the  books  of  the  church,  and 
"  also  saw  and  heard  other  elders,  among  whom  was 
"  my  cousin,  Brigham  Young,  and  my  brothers, 
"  Phineas,  Levi,  and  Willard  ;  all  of  which  served  to 
"  strengthen  my  faith  and  brighten  my  understand- 
"ing. 

"  A  short  time  after  I  was  baptized  and  confirmed 
"  I  was  greatly  afflicted  with  the  raging  of  a  cancer, 
"  about  to  break  out  in  my  face.  I  knew  too  well 
"  the  symptoms,  having  had  one  removed  previously. 
"  The  agony  of  such  an  operation,  only  those  who 
"  have  passed  through  a  like  experience  can  ever 
"  imagine.  The  fdea  of  again  passing  through  a 
"  like  physical  suffering  seemed  almost  more  than 
"humanity  could  endure.  One  Sabbath,  after  the 
"  close  of  the  morning  service,  I  spoke  to  the  presid- 
"  ing  elder,  and  acquainted  him  with  my  situation, 
"  requesting  that  I  might  be  administered  to,  accord- 
"  ing  to  the  pattern  that  God  had  given,  that  the 
"  cancer  might  be  rebuked  and  my  body  healed, 
"  The  elder  called  upon  the  sisters  present  to  unite 
"  their  faith  and  prayers  in  my  behalf,  and  upon  the 


THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM.  421 

4t  brethren  to  come  forward  and  lay  their  hands  upon 
"  me,  and  bless  me  in  the  name  of  the'  Lord  Jesus 
"  Christ,  according  to  my  desire.  It  was  done,  and 
41  I  went  home  completely  healed,  and  rejoicing  in 
"  the  God  of  my  salvation.  Many  times  have  I 
41  since  been  healed  by  the  same  power,  when,  appar- 
"  ently,  death  had  actually  seized  me  as  his  prey.  I 
"  would  not  have  it  understood,  however,  that  I  have 
41  been  a  weakly,  sickly,  useless  individual  all  my 
41  life.  Those  who  have  known  me  can  say  quite  to 
"  the  contrary.  Some  of  our  ambitious  little  girls 
41  and  working  women  would  doubtless  be  interested 
"  in  a  simple  sketch  of  some  few  things  which  I 
"  have  accomplished  by  manual  labor.  When  my- 
"  self  and  my  sisters  were  only  small  girls,  our  ex- 
u  cellent  mother  taught  us  how  to  work,  and  in  such 
"  a  wise  manner  did  she  conduct  our  home  educa- 
*  tion  that  we  always  loved  to  work,  and  were  never 
"  so  happy  as  when  we  were  most  usefully  employed. 
"  We  knit  our  own  and  our  brothers'  stockings,  made 
"  our  own  clothes,  braided  and  sewed  straw  hats  and 
4t  bonnets,  carded,  spun,  wove,  kept  house,  and  did 
"  everything  that  girls  and  women  of  a  self-sustain- 
"  ing  community  would  need  to  do.  The  day  that 
"  I  was  thirteen  years  old  I  wove  thirteen  yards  of 
"  cloth ;  and  in  twenty  months,  during  which  time  I 
"  celebrated  my  eightieth  birthday,  I  carded  twenty 
"  weight  of  cotton,  spun  two  hundred  and  fifteen 
"  balls  of  candlewicking,  and  two  hundred  run  of 
"  yarn,  prepared  for  the  weaver's  loom  ;  besides  do- 
"  ing  my  housework,  knitting  socks,  and  making 
"  shirts  for  '  my  boys '  (some  of  the  sons  of  my  bro- 
"  thers).  I  merely  make  mention  of  these  things  as 


422  THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM. 

"  samples  of  what  my  life-work  has  been.  I  never 
"  was  an  idler,  but  have  tried  to  be  useful  in  my 
"  humble  way,  '  doing  what  my  hands  found  to  do 
"  with  my  might/  I  now  begin  to  feel  the  weight  of 
"  years  upon  me,  and  can  no  longer  do  as  I  have 
"  done  in  former  years  for  those  around  me ;  but, 
"  through  the  boundless  mercies  of  God,  I  am  still 
"  able  to  wash  and  iron  my  own  clothes,  do  up  my 
"  lace  caps,  and  write  my  own  letters.  My  memory 
"  is  good,  and  as  a  general  thing  1  feel  well  in  body 
"  and  mind.  I  have  witnessed  the  death  of  many 
"  near  and  dear  friends,  both  old  and  young.  In  my 
"  young  days  I  buried  my  first  and  only  love,  and 
"  true  to  that  affiance,  I  have  passed  companionless 
"  through  life  ;  but  am  sure  of  having  my  proper 
"  place  and  standing  in  the  resurrection,  having  been 
"  sealed  to  the  prophet  Joseph,  according  to  the  ce- 
"  lestial  law,  by  his  own  request,  under  the  inspira- 
"  tion  of  divine  revelation." 

A  very  beautiful  incident  is  this  latter — the 
memory  of  her  early  love,  for  whose  sake  she  kept 
sacred  her  maiden  life.  The  passage  is  exquisite  in 
sentiment,  although  emanating  from  a  heart  that 
has  known  the  joys  and  sorrows  of  nearly  a  hun- 
dred years. 


Lydia  Partridge,  the  aged  relict  of  the  first  bishop 
of  the  Mormon  Church,  may  well  accompany  the 
venerable  sister  of  Willard  Richards. 

She  was  born  September  26,  1793,  in  the  town  of 
Marlboro,  Mass.,  her  parents'  names  being  Joseph 
Clisbee  and  Merriam  Howe.  The  course  of  events 


THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM.  423 

h.»atfy  brought  her  to  Ohio,  where  she  made  the 
acquaintance  of,  and  married,  Edward  Partridge. 
Her  husband  and  herself  were  proselyted  into  the 
Campbellite  persuasion  by  Sidney  Rigdon  ;  but  they 
soon  afterwards  became  converts  to  Mormonism, 
and  Mr.  Partridge  thereupon  commenced  his  career 
as  a  laborer  in  the  ministry  of  the  church.  They 
were  among  the  first  families  to  locate  in  Missouri, 
and  also  among  the  first  to  feel  the  sting  of  perse- 
cution in  that  State.  Removing  finally  to  Nauvoo, 
her  husband  there  died.  In  the  after-wanderings  of 
the  saints  in  search  of  a  home  in  the  wilderness  she 
accompanied  them.  It  may  be  briefly  said  of  her 
that  now,  after  forty-five  years  in  the  church,  she  is 
as  firm  and  steadfast  as  ever  in  her  faith,  and  is  one 
of  the  staunchest  advocates  of  polygamy. 


Next  comes  Margaret  T.  M.  Smoot,  wife  of  Bishop 
Smoot,  with  the  testimony  of  her  life. 

She  was  born  in  Chester  District,  South  Carolina, 
April  1 6th,  1809.  Her  father,  Anthony  McMeans, 
was  a  Scotchman  by  birth,  emigrating  to  America 
at  an  early  age,  and  settling  in  South  Carolina, 
where  he  resided  at  the  breaking  out  of  the  Revo- 
lutionary war.  Fired  with  patriotic  zeal,  he  imme- 
diately enlisted  in  the  ranks,  and  continued  fighting 
in  the  cause  of  liberty  until  the  close  of  the  war, 
when  he  returned  to  his  home,  where  he  remained 
until  his  death.  Her  mother  was  a  Hunter,  being 
of  Irish  extraction.  Her  grandfather  Hunter  also 
served  in  the  Revolutionary  war,  being  an  intimate 


424  THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM. 

friend  of  Gen.  Washington.  For  these  reasons 
Mrs.  Smoot  is  justly  proud  of  her  lineage.  Her 
husband,  the  bishop,  being  also  of  revolutionary 
descent,  they  as  a  family  well  exemplify  the  claim 
made  elsewhere,  that  the  Mormons  were  originally 
of  the  most  honored  and  patriotic  extraction. 

She  embraced  the  Mormon  faith  in  1834,  and  was 
married  to  Mr.  Smoot  the  following  year,  in  the 
State  of  Kentucky.  In  1837  they  went  to  Far 
West,  Mo.,  and  their  history  thence  to  Utah  is  the 
oft-told  story  of  outrage  and  persecution.  It  is 
proper  to  remark,  however,  that  their  son,  William, 
was  one  of  the  original  pioneers,  and  that  their 
family  was  among  the  first  company  that  entered 
the  valley. 

Sister  Smoot  is  known  in  the  church  as  one  of 
the  most  illustrious  examples  of  the  "  first  wives  " 
who  accepted  and  gave  a  true  Israelitish  character 
and  sanctity  to  the  "patriarchal  order  of  marriage;" 
while  the  long-sustained  position  of  her  husband  as 
Mayor  of  Salt  Lake  City,  enhances  the  effect  of  her 
social  example. 


A  few  incidents  from  the  life  of  Sister  Hendricks, 
whose  husband  was  wounded  in  "  Crooked  River 
battle,"  where  the  apostle  David  Patten  fell,  may 
properly  be  here  preserved. 

Of  that  mournful  incident,  she  says  :  "  A  neighbor 
"  stopped  at  the  gate  and  alighted  from  his  horse  ; 
"  I  saw  him  wipe  his  eyes,  and  knew  that  he  was 
"  weeping ;  he  came  to  the  door  and  said,  '  Mr.  Hen- 
"  dricks  wishes  you  to  come  to  him  at  the  Widow 


THE    WOMEN   OF    MORMONDOM.  425 

"  Metcalf's.  He  is  shot/  I  rode  to  the  place,  four 
"  miles  away,  and  there  saw  nine  of  the  brethren, 
"  pale  and  weak  from  their  wounds,  being  assisted 
"  into  the  wagons  that  were  to  take  them  to  their 
"  homes.  In  the  house  was  my  husband,  and  also 
"  David  Patten,  who  was  dying.  My  husband  was 
"  wounded  in  the  neck  in  such  a  manner  as  ta  injure 
"  the  spinal  column,  which  paralyzed  his  extremities. 
"  Although  he  could  speak,  he  could  not  move  any 
"  more  than  if  he  were  dead." 

Mr  Hendricks  lived  until  1870,  being  an  almost 
helpless  invalid  up  to  that  time.  Their  son  William 
was  a  member  of  the  famous  battalion.  Mrs.  H. 
still  survives,  and  is  the  happy  progenitress  of  five 
children,  sixty-three  grandchildren,  and  twenty-three 
great-grandchildren. 


The  wife  of  Bishop  McRae  deserves  remembrance 
in  connection  with  an  incident  of  the  battle  of 
Nauvoo.  When  it  was  determined  to  surrender 
that  city,  the  fugitive  saints  -were  naturally  anxious 
to  take  with  them  in  their  flight  whatever  of  prop- 
erty, etc.,  they  could,  that  would  be  necessary  to 
them  in  their  sojourn  in  the  wilderness.  It  will  be 
seen  at  once  that  nothing  could  have  been  of  more 
service  to  them  than  their  rifles  and  ammunition. 
Hence,  with  a  refinement  of  cruelty,  the  mobbers 
determined  to  rob  them  of  these  necessaries.  They 
accordingly  demanded  the  arms  and  ammunition  of 
all  who  left  the  city,  and  searched  their  wagons  to 
see  that  none  were  secreted.  Mrs.  McRae  was  de- 
termined to  save  a  keg  of  powder,  however,  and  so 


426  THE    WOMEN   OF'  MORMONDOM. 

she  ensconced  herself  in  her  wagon  with  the  powder 
keg  as  a  seat,  covering  it  with  the  folds  of  her  dress. 
Soon  a  squad  of  the  enemy  came  to  her  wagon,  and 
making  as  if  to  search  it,  asked  her  to  surrender 
whatever  arms  and  ammunition  she  might  have  on 
hand.  She  quietly  kept  her  seat,  however,  and 
coolly  asked  them, "  How  many  more  times  are  you 
going  to  search  this  wagon  to-day  ?"  This  question 
giving  them  the  impression  that  they  had  already 
searched  the  wagon,  they  moved  on,  and  Mrs.  McRae 
saved  her  powder. 

She  still  lives,  and  is  at  present  a  much  respected 
resident  of  Salt  Lake  City. 


Mrs.  Mary  M.  Luce,  a  venerable  sister,  now  in 
her  seventy-seventh  year,  and  a  resident  of  Salt 
Lake  City,  deserves  a  passing  mention  from  the  fact 
that  her  religion  has  caused  her  to  traverse  the 
entire  breadth  of  the  continent,  in  order  to  be 
gathered  with  the  saints.  She  was  a  convert  of 
Wilford  Woodruff,  who  visited  her  native  place 
while  on  mission  to  the  "  Islands  of  the  Sea"  (Fox 
Islands,  off  the  Coast  of  Maine).  In  1838,  with  her 
family,  she  journeyed  by  private  conveyance  from 
Maine  to  Illinois,  joining  the  saints  at  Nauvoo. 
This  was,  in  those  days,  a  very  long  and  tedious 
journey,  consuming  several  months'  time.  During 
the  persecutions  of  Nauvoo,  she  was  reduced  to  ex- 
treme poverty;  but,  after  many  vicissitudes,  was 
enabled  to  reach  Salt  Lake  City  the  first  year  after 
the  pioneers,  where  she  has  since  continued  to  re- 


THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM.  427 

side.  In  her  experience  she  has  received  many 
tests  and  manifestations  of  the  divine  origin  of  the 
latter-day  work,  and  testifies  that  "  these  are  the 
happiest  days  "  of  her  life. 


Elizabeth  H.,  wife  of  William  Hyde,  for  whom 
44  Hyde  Park,"  Utah,  was  named,  was  born  in  Hol- 
liston,  Middlesex  county,  Mass.,  October  2d,  1813. 
She  was  the  daughter  of  Joel  and  Lucretia  Bullard, 
and  a  descendant,  on  the  maternal  side,  from  the 
Goddards.  Her  mother  and  herself  were  baptized 
into  the  Mormon  faith  in  1838,  and  they  moved  to 
Nauvoo  in  1841,  where  Elizabeth  was  married  to 
Elder  Hyde,  in  1842.  He  was  on  mission  most  of 
the  time  up  to  1846,  when  they  left  Nauvoo,  in  the 
exodus  of  the  church.  Her  husband  joined  the 
Mormon  battalion  in  July  following,  returning  home 
in  the  last  month  of  1847.  ^n  tne  spring  of  1849, 
with  their  three  surviving  children,  they  journeyed 
to  Salt  Lake  Valley,  where  they  resided  until  about 
seventeen  years  ago,  when  they  removed  to  Cache 
Valley,  and  founded  the  settlement  which  bears 
their  name.  Mr.  Hyde  died  in  1872,  leaving  five 
wives  and  twenty-two  children.  "  It  is  my  greatest 
44  desire,"  says  sister  Hyde,  "  that  I  may  so  live  as  to 
44  be  accounted  worthy  to  dwell  with  those  who  have 
"overcome,  and  have  the  promise  of  eternal  lives, 
"which  is  the  greatest  gift  of  God." 


Nor  should  we  forget  to   mention  "  Mother  Ses- 


428  THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM. 

sions,"  another  of  the  last-century  women  who  have 
gathered  to  Zion.  Her  maiden  name  was  Patty 
Bartlett,  and  she  was  born  February  4th,  1795,  in 
the  town  of  Bethel,  Oxford  county,  Maine.  She 
was  married  to  David  Sessions  in  1812,  and  sur- 
vives both  him  and  a  second  husband.  Herself  and 
husband  joined  the  church  in  1834,  moved  to  Nau- 
voo  in  1840,  and  left  there  with  the  exiled  saints  in 
1846.  In  the  summer  of  1847  they  crossed  the 
plains  to  the  valley,  Mrs.  Sessions,  although  in  her 
fifty-third  year,  driving  a  four-ox  team  the  entire 
distance. 

Mother  Sessions  is  a  model  of  zeal,  frugality,  in- 
dustry and  benevolence.  When  she  entered  the 
valley  she  had  but  five  cents,  which  she  had  found 
on  the  road ;  now,  after  having  given  many  hun- 
dreds of  dollars  to  the  perpetual  emigration  fund, 
tithing  fund,  etc.,  and  performing  unnumbered  deeds 
of  private  charity,  she  is  a  stockholder  in  the  "  Z.  C. 
M.  I."  to  the  amount  of  some  twelve  or  thirteen 
thousand  dollars,  and  is  also  possessed  of  a  compe- 
tence for  the  remainder  of  her  days  ;  all  of  which 
is  a  result  of  her  own  untiring  efforts  and  honorable 
business  sagacity.  As  a  testimony  of  her  life  she 
says,  "  I  am  now  eighty-two  years  of  age.  I  drink 
"  no  tea  nor  coffee,  nor  spirituous  liquors  ;  neither  do 
"  I  smoke  nor  take  snuff.  To  all  my  posterity  and 
"  friends  I  say,  do  as  I  have  done,  and  as  much 
"  better  as  you  can,  and  the  Lord  will  bless  you  as 
"  he  has  me." 


Mrs.   R.  A.   Holden,  of  Provo,  is   another  of  the 


THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM.  429 

revolutionary  descendants.  Her  grandfather,  Cle- 
ment Bishop,  was  an  officer  in  the  revolutionary 
war,  was  wounded,  and  drew  a  pension  until  his 
death.  Mrs.  H.,  whose  maiden  name  was  Bliss,  was 
born  in  1815,  in  Livingston  county,  N.  Y.,  and  after 
marrying  Mr.  Holden,  in  1833,  rtioved  to  Illinois, 
where,  in  1840,  they  embraced  the  gospel.  Their 
efforts  to  reach  the  valley  and  gather  with  the 
church  form  an  exceptional  chapter  of  hardship  and 
disappointment.  Nevertheless,  they  arrived  at 
Provo  in  1852,  where  they  have  since  resided;  Mrs. 
Holden  being,  since  1867,  the  president  of  the  Re- 
lief Society  of  the  Fourth  Ward  of  that  city. 


Sister  Diantha  Morley  Billings  is  another  of  the 
aged  and  respected  citizens  of  Provo.  She  was 
born  August  23d,  1795,  at  Montague,  Mass.  About 
the  year  1815  she  moved  to  Kirtland,  Ohio,  and 
there  was  married  to  Titus  Billings.  Herself  and 
husband  and  Isaac  Morley,  her  brother,  were  among 
the  first  baptized  in  Kirtland.  They  were  also 
among  the  first  to  remove  to  Missouri,  whence  they 
were  driven,  and  plundered  of  all  they  possessed, 
by  the  mobs  that  arose,  in  that  State,  against  the 
saints.  Her  husband  was  in  Crooked  River  battle, 
standing  by  Apostle  Patten  when  he  fell. 

They  reached  Utah  in  1848,  and  were  soon  there- 
after called  to  go  and  start  settlements  in  San  Pete. 
They  returned  to  Provo  in  1864,  and  in  1866  Mr. 
Billings  died. 

While  living  in  Nauvoo,  after  the  expulsion  from 


430  THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM. 

Missouri,  Mrs.  Billings  was  ordained  and  set  apart 
by  the  prophet  Joseph  to  be  a  nurse,  in  which  call- 
ing she  has  ever  since  been  very  skillful. 


Mrs.  Amanda  Wimley,  although  but  eight  years  a 
resident  of  Utah,  was  converted  to  Mormonism  in 
Philadelphia,  in  the  year  1839,  under  the  preaching 
of  Joseph  the  prophet,  being  baptized  shortly  after- 
ward. For  thirty  years  the  circumstances  of  her 
life  were  such  that  it  was  not  expedient  for  her  to 
gather  with  the  church  ;  she  nevertheless  maintained 
her  faith,  and  was  endowed  to  a  remarkable  degree 
with  the  gift  of  healing,  which  she  exercised  many 
times  with  wonderful  effect  in  her  own  family.  Jour- 
neying to  Salt  Lake  City  some  eight  years  since,  on 
a  visit  merely,  she  has  now  fully  determined  to 
permanently  remain,  as  the  representative  of  her 
father's  house,  to  "  do  a  work  for  her  ancestry  and 
posterity." 


Polly  Sawyer  Atwood,  who  died  in  Salt  Lake 
City,  Oct.  1 6th,  1876,  is  worthy  of  a  passing  notice, 
because  of  her  many  good  deeds  in  the  service  of 
God.  She  was  another  of  the  last  century  women, 
being  born  in  1790,  in  Windham,  Conm  Her 
parents  were  Asahel  and  Elizabeth  Sawyer.  Her- 
self and  husband,  Dan  Atwood,  first  heard  the  gos- 
pel in  1839,  and  were  straightway  convinced  of  its 
truth.  They  journeyed  to  Salt  Lake  in  1850.  Here 
she  displayed  in  a  remarkable  manner  the  works  and 


THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM.  431 

gifts  of  faith,  and  was  much  sought  after  by  the  sick 
and  afflicted,  up  to  the  day  of  her  death,  which  oc- 
curred in  her  86th  year.  It  is  worthy  of  mention 
that  she  was  the  mother  of  three  men  of  distinction 
in  the  church — Millen  Atwood,  who  was  one  of  the 
pioneers,  a  missionary  to  England,  captain  of  the 
first  successful  handcart  company,  and  a  member  of 
the  high  council ;  Miner  Atwood,  who  was  a  mission- 
ary to  South  Africa,  and  also  a  member  of  the  high 
council ;  and  Samuel  Atwood,  who  is  one  of  the  pre- 
siding bishops  of  the  Territory. 


In  connection  with  Mother  Atwood  may  also 
properly  be  mentioned  her  daughter-in-law,  Relief 
C.  Atwood,  the  wife  of  Millen,  who  received  the 
gospel  in  New  Hampshire,  in  1843,  and  in  T^45  emi" 
grated  to  Nauvoo.  This  was  just  before  the  expul- 
sion of  the  church  from  that  city,  and  in  a  few 
months  she  found  herself  in  the  wilderness.  At 
winter  quarters,  after  the  return  of  the  pioneers, 
she  married  Mr.  Atwood,  one  of  their  number,  and 
with  him  in  1848  journeyed  to  the  valley.  Their 
trials  were  at  first  nigh  overwhelming,  but  in  a  mo- 
ment of  prayer,  when  they  were  about  to  give  up  in 
despair,  the  spirit  of  the  Lord  rested  upon  Mr.  A., 
and  he  spoke  in  tongues,  and  at  the  same  time  the 
gift  of  interpretation  rested  upon  her.  It  was  an 
exhortation  to  renewed  hope  and  trust,  which  so 
strengthened  them  that  they  were  able  to  overcome 
every  difficulty.  Her  family  has  also  received  many 
striking  manifestations  of  the  gift  of  healing — so 


432  THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM 

much  so  that  she  now  bears  testimony  that  "  God  is 
their  great  physician,  in  whom  she  can  safely  trust.'* 


Sister  Sarah  B.  Fiske,  who  was  born  in  Potsdam, 
St.  Lawrence  Co.,  N.  Y.,  in  1819,  is  another  of  revo- 
lutionary ancestry  ;  her  grandfathers,  on  both  pater- 
nal and  maternal  side,  having  served  in  the  revolu- 
tionary war.  In  1837  she  was  married  to  Ezra  H. 
Allen.  Shortly  thereafter  they  were  both  converted 
to  Mormonism,  and  in  1842  moved  to  Nauvoo.  In 
the  spring  of  '43  they  joined  the  settlement  which 
was  attempted  at  a  place  called  Shockoquan,  about 
twenty-five  miles  north  of  Nauvoo.  Journeying 
with  the  saints  on  the  exodus,  she  stopped  at  Mount 
Pisgah,  while  her  husband  went  forward  in  the  bat- 
talion. Nearly  two  years  passed,  and  word  came 
that  the  brethren  of  the  battalion  were  coming  back. 
With  the  most  intense  anxiety  she  gathered  every 
word  of  news  concerning  their  return,  and  at  last 
was  informed  that  they  were  at  a  ferry  not  far  away. 
She  hastened  to  make  herself  ready  and  was  about 
to  go  out  to  meet  him  when  the  word  was  brought 
that  her  husband  had  been  murdered  by  Indians  in 
the  California  mountains.  She  was  handed  her 
husband's  purse,  which  had  been  left  by  the  Indians, 
and  which  contained  his  wages  and  savings.  This 
enabled  her  to  procure  an  outfit,  and  in  1852  she 
journeyed  to  the  valley. 


Here  let  us  mention  another  octogenarian  sister 


THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM.  433 

in  the  person  of  Jane  Neyman,  daughter  of  David 
and  Mary  Harper,  who  was  born  in  Westmoreland 
Co.,  Pa.,  in  1792.  She  embraced  the  gospel  in  1838, 
and  became  at  once  endowed  with  the  gift  of  heal- 
ing, which  enabled  her  to  work  many  marvelous 
cures,  among  which  may  be  mentioned  the  raising 
of  two  infants  from  apparent  death,  they  each  hav- 
ing been  laid  out  for  burial.  Herself  and  family  re- 
ceived an  unstinted  share  of  the  persecutions  of  the 
saints,  in  Missouri,  and  afterwards  in  Nauvoo,  in 
which  latter  place  her  husband  died.  Her  daugh- 
ter, Mary  Ann  Nickerson,  then  residing  on  the  op- 
posite side  of  the  river  from  Nauvoo,  on  the  occa- 
sion of  the  troubles  resulting  in  the  battle  of  Nau- 
voo, made  cartridges  at  her  home,  and  alone  in  her 
little  skiff  passed  back  and  forth  across  the  Missis- 
sippi (one  mile  wide  at  that  point),  delivering  the 
cartridges,  without  discovery.  While  the  battle  was 
raging  she  also  took  seven  persons,  including  her 
mother,  on  a  flat-boat,  and  by  her  unaided  exertions 
ferried  them  across  the  river.  This  heroic  lady  is 
now  living  in  Beaver,  Utah. 

Mrs.  Neyman,  now  in  her  85th  year,  testifies  con- 
cerning the  truth  of  the  gospel  as  revealed  through 
Joseph  Smith  :  "  I  know  it  is  the  work  of  God,  by 
the  unerring  witness  of  the  Holy  Ghost." 


Malvina  Harvey  Snow,  daughter*  of  Joel  Harvey, 
was  born  in  the  State  of  Vermont,  in  1811.  She 
was  brought  into  the  church  under  the  ministry  of 
Orson  Pratt,  in  1833,  he  being  then  on  mission  in 

28 


434  THE  woiy[EN  OF  MORMONDOM. 

that  section.  Her  nearest  neighbor  was  Levi  Snow, 
father  of  Apostle  Erastus  Snow.  The  Snow  family 
mostly  joined  the  new  faith,  and  Malvina  and  her 
sister  Susan  journeyed  with  them  to  Missouri.  At 
Far  West  she  was  married  to  Willard  Snow,  in 
1837,  and  in  about  two  years  afterward  they  were 
driven  from  the  State.  They  settled  at  Montrose, 
but,  while  her  husband  was  on  mission  to  England, 
she  moved  across  the  river  to  Nauvoo,  the  mob 
having  signified  their  intention  to  burn  her  house 
over  her  head.  In  1847  they  started  for  Utah,  from 
Council  Bluffs,  in  the  wake  of  the  pioneers,  arriving 
in  the  valley  in  the  fall  of  that  year.  Says  Sister 
Malvina,  "  My  faithful  sister,  Susan,  was  with  me 
"  from  the  time  I  left  our  father's  house  in  Vermont, 
"  and  when  we  arrived  in  Utah  my  husband  took  her 
"  to  wife.  She  bore  him  a  daughter,  but  lost  her  life 
"at  its  birth.  I  took  the  infant  to  my  bosom,  and 
"  never  felt  any  difference  between  her  and  my  own 
"children.  She  is  now  a  married  woman.  In  1850 
"my  husband  was  called  on  mission  to  Denmark, 
"from  which  he  never  returned.  He  was  buried  in 
"the  Atlantic,  being  the  only  missionary  from  Utah 
"  that  was  ever  laid  in  the  sea.  I  raised  my  five  chil- 
"dren  to  manhood  and  womanhood,  and  have  now 
"  lived  a  widow  twenty-six  years.  Hoping  to  finally 
"  meet  my  beloved  husband  and  family,  never  again 
"  to  part,  I  am  patiently  waiting  the  hour  of  reunion. 
"  May  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  help  me  to  be  faithful 
"  to  the  end." 


Sister  Caroline  Tippits,  whose  maiden  name  was 


THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM.  435 

Pew,  deserves  to  be  mentioned  as  one  of  the  earlier 
members  of  the  church,  having  embraced  the  gospel 
in  1831.  Shortly  afterwards  she  joined  the  saints 
in  Jackson  county,  Mo.,  and  during  the  persecutions 
that  ensued,  endured  perhaps  the  most  trying  hard- 
ships that  were  meted  out  to  any  of  the  sisters. 
Driven  out  into  the  midst  of  a  prairie,  by  the  mob, 
in  the  month  of  January,  with  a  babe  and  two-years- 
old  child,  she  was  compelled  to  sleep  on  the  ground 
with  only  one  thin  quilt  to  cover  them,  and  the 
snow  frequently  falling  three  or  four  inches  in  a 
night.  She  came  to  Utah  with  the  first  companies, 
and  is  reckoned  among  the  most  faithful  of  the 
saints. 


Julia  Budge,  first  wife  of  Bishop  William  Budge, 
may  be  presented  as  one  of  the  women  who  have 
made  polygamy  honorable.  She  was  born  in  Essex, 
England,  where  she  was  baptized  by  Chas.  W.  Pen- 
rose,  one  of  the  most  distinguished  of  the  English 
elders,  who  afterwards  married  her  sister — a  lady  of 
the  same  excellent  disposition.  The  bishop  is  to- 
day the  husband  of  three  wives,  whose  children 
have  grown  up  as  one  family,  and  the  wives  have 
lived  together  "  like  sisters."  No  stranger,  with  pre- 
conceived notions,  would  guess  that  they  sustained 
the  very  tender  relation  of  sister-wives.  Their 
happy  polygamic  example  is  a  sort  of  "  household 
word "  in  the  various  settlements  over  which  the 
bishop  has  presided. 

Sister  Nancy  A.  Clark,  daughter  of  Sanford  Por- 


436  THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM. 

ter,  now  a  resident  of  Farmington,  Utah,  has  had  a 
most  remarkable  personal  experience  as  a  servant 
of  God.  When  a  little  girl,  less  than  eight  years  of 
age,  residing  with  her  parents  in  Missouri,  she,  in 
answer  to  prayer,  received  the  gift  of  tongues,  and 
became  a  great  object  of  interest  among  the  saints. 
During  and  succeeding  the  persecutions  in  that 
State,  and  while  her  father's  family  were  being 
driven  from  place  to  place,  her  oft-repeated  spiritual 
experiences  were  the  stay  and  comfort  of  all  around 
her.  Her  many  visions  and  experiences  would  fill  a 
volume.  It  is  needless  to  say  that  she  is  among  the 
most  faithful  and  devoted  of  the  sisterhood. 


A  pretty  little  instance  of  faith  and  works  is 
related  by  Martha  Granger,  the  wife  of  Bishop  Wil- 
liam G.  Young,  which  is  worthy  of  record.  In  Sep- 
tember, 1872,  the  bishop  was  riding  down  Silver 
Creek  Canyon,  on  his  way  to  Weber  river,  when  he 
became  sunstruck,  and  fell  back  in  his  wagon,  insen- 
sible. His  horses,  as  if  guided  by  an  invisible  hand, 
kept  steadily  on,  and  finally  turned  into  a  farmer's 
barnyard.  The  farmer,  who  was  at  work  in  the 
yard,  thinking  some  team  had  strayed  away,  went 
up  to  catch  them,  when  he  discovered  the  bishop  (a 
stranger  to  him)  in  the  wagon.  He  thought  at  first 
that  the  stranger  was  intoxicated,  and  so  hitched 
the  team,  thinking  to  let  him  lay  and  sleep  it  off. 
But  upon  a  closer  examination,  failing  to  detect  the 
fumes  of  liquor,  he  concluded  the  man  was  sick,  and 
calling  assistance,  took  him  into  the  shade  of  a  hay- 


THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM.  437 

stack,  and  cared  for  him.  Still  the  bishop  remained 
unconscious,  and  the  sun  went  down,  and  night 
came  on. 

Forty  miles  away,  the  bishop's  good  wife  at  home 
had  called  her  little  seven-years-old  child  to  her 
knee,  to  say  the  usual  prayer  before  retiring.  As 
the  little  child  had  finished  the  mother  observed  a 
far-off  look  in  its  eyes,  and  then  came  the  strange 
and  unusual  request:  "Mother,  may  I  pray,  in  my 
own  words,  for  pa  ?  he's  sick."  "Yes, my  child,"  said 
the  mother,  wonderingly.  "  Oh  Lord,  heal  up  pa, 
that  he  may  live  and  not  die,  and  come  home,"  was 
the  faltering  prayer ;  and  in  that  same  moment  the 
bishop,  in  that  far-off  farmer's  yard,  arose  and  spoke  ; 
and  in  a  few  moments  was  himself  praising  God  for 
the  succor  that  he  knew  not  had  been  invoked  by 
his  own  dear  child. 


CHAPTER  XLVI. 

MORMON  WOMEN  WHOSE  ANCESTORS  WERE  ON  BOARD 
THE  "MAYFLOWER" — A  BRADFORD,  AND  DESCEND- 
ANT OF  THE  SECOND  GOVERNOR  OF  PLYMOUTH 

COLONY A  DESCENDANT  OF  ROGERS,  THE  MARTYR 

THE  THREE  WOMEN  WHO  CAME  WITH  THE    PION- 
EERS  THE  FIRST  WOMAN  BORN  IN  UTAH WOMEN 

OF    THE    CAMP    OF    ZION WOMEN  OF  THE   MORMON 

BATTALION. 

Harriet  A.,  wife  of  Lorenzo  Snow,  was  born  in 
Aurora,  Portage  Co.,  Ohio,  Sept.  13,  1819.  Her  hon- 
orable lineage  is  best  established  by  reference  to  the 
fact  that  her  parents  were  natives  of  New  England, 
that  one  of  her  grandfathers  served  in  the  Revolu- 
tionary war,  and  that  her  progenitors  came  to  Amer- 
ica in  the  Mayflower. 

At  twenty-five  years  of  age  she  embraced  the 
gospel,  and  in  1846  gathered  with  the  church  at 
Nauvoo.  In  January,  '47,  she  was  married  to  Elder 
Snow,  and  in  the  February  following,  with  her  hus- 
band and  his  three  other  wives,  crossed  the  Missis- 
sippi and  joined  the  encampment  of  the  saints  who 
had  preceded  them. 

Thence  to  Salt  Lake  Valley  her  story  is  not  dis- 
similar to  that  of  the  majority  of  the  saints,  except 


THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM.  439 

in  personal  incident  and  circumstance.  A  praise- 
worthy act  of  hers,  during  the  trip  across  the  plains, 
deserves  historical  record,  however.  A  woman  had 
died  on  the  way,  leaving  three  little  children — one 
of  them  a  helpless  infant.  Sister  Snow  was  so 
wrought  upon  by  the  pitiful  condition  of  the  infant, 
that  she  weaned  her  own  child  and  nursed  the 
motherless  babe.  By  a  stupid  blunder  of  her  team- 
ster, also,  she  was  one  night  left  behind,  alone,  with 
two  little  children  on  the  prairie.  Luckily  for  her, 
a  wagon  had  broken  down  and  had  been  abandoned 
by  the  company.  Depositing  the  babes  in  the 
wagon-box,  she  made  search,  and  found  that  some 
flour  and  a  hand-bell  had  been  left  in  the  wreck,  and 
with  this  scanty  outfit  she  set  about  making  supper. 
She  first  took  the  clapper  out  of  the  bell,  then  stop- 
ped up  the  hole  where  it  had  been  fastened  in. 
This  now  served  her  for  a  water-pitcher.  Filling  it 
at  a  brook  some  distance  away,  she  wet  up  some  of 
the  flour ;  then,  with  some  matches  that  she  had 
with  her,  started  a  fire,  and  baked  the  flour-cakes, 
herself  and  thirteen-months-old  child  making  their 
supper  upon  them.  She  then  ensconced  herself  in 
the  wagon  with  her  babes,  and  slept  till  early  morn- 
ing, when  her  husband  found  her  and  complimented 
her  highly  for  her  ingenuity  and  bravery. 

From  the  valley  Apostle  Snow  was  sent  to  Italy 
on  mission,  where  he  remained  three  years.  An  il- 
lustrative incident  of  his  experience  on  his  return, 
is  worth  telling.  His  return  had  been  announced, 
and  his  children,  born  after  his  departure,  were  as 
jubilant  over  his  coming  as  the  others  ;  but  one  little 
girl,  although  in  raptures  about  her  father  before  he 


44O  THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM. 

came,  on  his  arrival  felt  somewhat  dubious  as  to 
whether  he  was  her  father  or  not,  and  refused  to  ap- 
proach him  for  some  time,  and  no  persuasion  could 
entice  her.  At  length  she  entered  the  room  where 
he  was  sitting,  and  after  enquiring  of  each  of  the 
other  children,  "Is  that  my  favvy  ?"  and  receiving  an 
affirmative  response,  she  placed  herself  directly  in 
front  of  her  father,  and  looking  him  full  in  the  face, 
said,  "Is  you  my  favvy?"  "Yes,"  said  he,  "I  am 
your  father."  The  little  doubter,  being  satisfied,  re- 
plied, "  well,  if  you  is  my  favvy,  I  will  kiss  you." 
And  she  most  affectionately  fulfilled  the  promise, 
being  now  satisfied  that  her  caresses  were  not  being 
lavished  on  a  false  claimant. 

Sister  Snow,  as  will  be  perceived,  was  among  the 
first  to  enter  polygamy,  and  her  testimony  now  is, 
after  thirty  years'  experience,  that  "  It  is  a  pure  and 
sacred  principle,  and  calculated  to  exalt  and  ennoble 
all  who  honor  and  live  it  as  revealed  by  Joseph 
Smith." 


Mrs.  Elmira  Tufts,  of  Salt  Lake  City,  was  born 
in  Maine,  in  the  year  1812.  Her  parents  were  both 
natives  of  New  England,  and  her  mother,  Betsy 
Bradford,  was  a  descendant  of  William  Bradford, 
who  came  to  America  on  the  Mayflower,  in  1620, 
and,  after  the  death  of  Governor  Carver,  was  elected 
governor  of  the  Little  Plymouth  Colony,  which 
position  he  held  for  over  thirty  years.  Her  father, 
Nathan  Pinkham,  also  served  in  the  Revolution. 

With  her  husband,  Mrs.  Tufts  gathered  to  Nauvoo 
in  1842.  With  the  body  of  the  church  they  shared 


THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM.  441 

the  vicissitudes  of  the  exodus,  and  finally  the  gath- 
ering to  the  valley.  Here  Mr.  Tufts  died  in  1850. 
Mrs.  T.  had  the  pleasure  of  visiting  the  recent 
centennial  exhibition,  and  declares  that  this  is  the 
height  and  acme  of  America's  grandeur.  "  The 
"  grand  display,"  she  says,  "  which  all  nations  were 
"  invited  to  witness,  is  like  the  bankrupt's  grand  ball, 
"just  before  the  crash  of  ruin." 


Vienna  Jacques  was  born  in  the  vicinity  of  Bos- 
ton, in  1788.  She  went  to  Kirtland  in  1833,  being 
a  single  lady  and  very  wealthy.  When  she  arrived 
in  Kirtland  she  donated  all  of  her  property  to  the 
church.  She  is  one  of  the  few  women  mentioned 
in  the  Book  of  Doctrine  and  Covenants.  Her 
lineage  is  very  direct  to  the  martyr  John  Rogers. 
She  is  still  living  and  retains  all  of  her  faculties. 


The  three  women  who  came  to  the  valley  with  the 
pioneers  are  deserving  of  mention  in  connection 
with  that  event. 

Mrs.  Harriet  Page  Wheeler  Young,  the  eldest  of 
the  three  above  mentioned,  was  born  in  Hillsbo- 
rough,  N.  H.,  September  7th,  1803.  She  was  bap- 
tized into  the  Mormon  connection  in  February,  1836, 
at  New  Portage,  Ohio ;  went  with  the  saints  to  Mis- 
souri, and  was  expelled  from  that  State  in  1839; 
went  from  there  to  Nauvoo,  and  in  the  spring  of 
1844  was  married  to  Lorenzo  Dow  Young,  brother 


442  THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM. 

of  President  Young.  She  was  with  her  husband  in 
the  exodus;  and,  on  the  7th  of  April,  1847,  'm  com- 
pany with  Helen  Saunders,  wife  of  Heber  C.  Kim- 
ball,  and  Clara  Decker,  wife  of  President  Young, 
accompanied  the  pioneers  on  their  famous  journey 
to  the  valley  of  the  Great  Salt  Lake. 

They  arrived  in  the  valley  on  the  24th  of  July, 
1847,  and  camped  near  what  is  now  Main  street, 
Salt  Lake  City.  Plowing  and  planting  was  imme- 
diately commenced,  and  houses  were  soon  reared  in 
what  was  afterwards  called  the  "  Old  Fort."  On 
the  24th  of  September,  following,  she  presented  to 
her  husband  a  son,  the  first  white  male  child  born 
in  the  valley. 

In  the  early  days,  as  is  well  known,  the  new  set- 
tlers of  Salt  Lake  were  considerably  troubled  with 
Indian  depredations.  One  day,  when  "  Uncle  Lo- 
renzo "  was  gone  from  home,  and  his  wife  was  alone, 
an  Indian  came  and  asked  for  biscuit.  She  gave 
him  all  she  could  spare,  but  he  demanded  more,  and 
when  she  refused,  he  drew  his  bow  and  arrow  and 
said  he  would  kill  her.  But  she  outwitted  him.  In 
the  adjoining  room  was  a  large  dog,  which  fact  the 
Indian  did  not  know,  and  Sister  Young,  feigning 
great  fear,  asked  the  Indian  to  wait  a  moment,  while 
she  made  as  if  to  go  into  the  other  room  for  more 
food.  She  quickly  untied  the  dog,  and,  opening 
the  door,  gave  him  the  word.  In  an  instant  the 
Indian  was  overpowered  and  begging  for  mercy. 
She  called  off  the  dog,  and  bound  up  the  Indian's 
wounds  and  let  him  go,  and  she  was  never  troubled 
by  Indians  again.  Her  dying  testimony  to  her  hus- 
band, just  before  she  expired,  December  22d,  1871, 


THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM.  443 

was  that  she  had  never  known  any  difference  in  her 
feelings  and  love  for  the  children  born  to  him  by 
his  young  wives,  and  her  own. 

Sister  Helen  Saunders  Kimball  remained  in  the 
valley  with  her  husband  and  reared  a  family.  She 
died  November  22d,  1871. 

Clara  Decker  Young  is  still  living,  and  has  an 
interesting  family. 


Here  may  very  properly  be  mentioned  the  first 
daughter  of  "  Deseret ;"  or,  more  strictly  speaking, 
the  first  female  child  born  in  Utah.  Mrs.  James 
Stopley,  now  a  resident  of  Kanarrah,  Kane  county, 
Utah,  and  the  mother  of  five  fine  children,  is  the 
daughter  of  John  and  Catherine  Steele,  who  were 
in  the  famous  Mormon  battalion.  Just  after  their 
discharge  from  the  United  States  service  they 
reached  the  site  of  Salt  Lake  City  (then  occupied 
by  the  pioneers),  and  on  the  gth  of  August,  1847, 
their  little  daughter  was  born.  This  being  a  proper 
historical  incident,  inasmuch  as  she  was  the  first 
white  child  born  in  the  valley,  it  may  be  interesting 
to  note  that  the  event  occurred  on  the  east  side  of 
what  is  now  known  as  Temple  Block,  at  4  o'clock 
A.  M.,  of  the  day  mentioned.  In  honor  of  Presi- 
dent Brigham  Young,  she  was  named  Young  Eliza- 
beth. Her  father  writes  of  her  at  that  time  as  being 
"  a  stout,  healthy  child,  and  of  a  most  amiable  dis- 
position." 


Among  the  veteran   sisters  whose  names   should 


444  THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM. 

be  preserved  to  history,  are  Mrs.  Mary  Snow  Gates, 
Mrs.  Charlotte  Alvord,  and  Mrs.  Diana  Drake, 
They  are  uniques  of  Mormon  history,  being  the 
three  women  who,  with  "  Zion's  Camp,"  went  up 
from  Kirtland  to  Missouri,  "  to  redeem  Zion."  Their 
lives  have  been  singularly  eventful,  and  they  rank 
among  the  early  disciples  of  the  church  and  the 
founders  of  Utah. 


And  here  let  us  make  a  lasting  and   honorable 
record  of  the  women  of  the  battalion  : 

Mrs.  James  Brown,  Mrs.  O.  Adams, 

"    Albina  Williams,  "    J.  Chase, 

Tubbs,  "         —  Sharp, 


J.  Hess, 
John  Steele, 
C.  Stillman, 

Smith, 

M.  Ballom, 
W.  Smithson, 
A.  Smithson. 

These  are  the  noble  Mormon  women  who  ac- 
cepted the  uncertain  fortunes  of  war,  in  the  service 
of  their  country.  Be  their  names  imperishable  in 
American  history. 


D.  Wilkin, 
Fanny  Huntington, 
J.      Harmon,      and 

daughter, 
U.  Higgins, 

E.  Hanks, 
Melissa  Corey, 


CHAPTER  XLVII. 

ONE    OF    THE     FOUNDERS     OF    CALIFORNIA A    WOMAN 

MISSIONARY    TO    THE    SOCIETY    ISLANDS HER   LIFE 

AMONG  THE  NATIVES THE  ONLY  MORMON  WOMAN 

SENT     ON     MISSION     WITHOUT     HER      HUSBAND A 

MORMON  WOMAN  IN  WASHINGTON A  SISTER  FROM 

THE  EAST  INDIES A  SISTER  FROM  TEXAS. 

The  Mormons  were  not  only  the  founders  of 
Utah,  but. they  were  also  the  first  American  emi- 
grants to  California.  Fremont  and  his  volunteers, 
and  the  American  navy,  had,  it  is  true,  effected  the 
coup  de  main  of  taking  possession  of  California,  and 
the  American  flag  was  hoisted  in  the  bay  of  San 
Francisco  at  the  very  moment  of  the  arrival  of  the 
ship  Brooklyn  with  its  company  of  Mormon  emi- 
grants, but  to  that  company  belongs  the  honor  of 
first  settlers.  The  wife  of  Col.  Jackson  thus  nar- 
rates : 

"  In  the  month  of  February,  1846,  I  left  home 
"  and  friends  and  sailed  in  the  ship  Brooklyn  for  Cal- 
"  ifornia.  Before  starting  I  visited  my  parents  in 
"  New  Hampshire.  I  told  them  of  my  determination 
"  to  follow  God's  people,  who  had  already  been  noti- 
"  fied  to  leave  the  United  States ;  that  our  destination 
"  was  the  Pacific  opast,  and  that  we  should  take  ma- 


446  THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM. 

"  terials  to  plant  a  colony.  When  the  hour  came  for 
"  parting  my  father  could  not  speak,  and  my  mother 
"  cried  out  in  despair,  '  When  shall  we  see  you  again, 
"  my  child  7  l  When  there  is  a  railroad  across  the 
"  continent,'  I  answered. 

"  Selling  all  my  household  goods,  I  took  my  child 
"  in  my  arms  and  went  on  board  ship.  Of  all  the 
"  memories  of  my  life  not  one  is  so  bitter  as  that 
"dreary  six  months'  voyage,  in  an  emigrant  ship, 
"  around  the  Horn. 

"  When  we  entered  the  harbor  of  San  Francisco, 
"  an  officer  came  on  board  and  said,  '  Ladies  and 
"  gentlemen,  I  have  the  honor  to  inform  you  that 
"you  are  in  the  United  States/  Three  cheers  from 
"  all  on  board  answered  the  announcement. 

"Unlike  the  California  of  to-day,  we  found  the 
"  country  barren  and  dreary ;  but  we  trusted  in  God 
"  and  he  heard  our  prayers ;  and  when  I  soaked  the 
"  mouldy  ship-bread,  purchased  from  the  whale-ships 
"  lying  in  the  harbor,  and  fried  it  in  the  tallow  taken 
"  from  the  raw  hides  lying  on  the  beach,  God  made 
"  it  sweet  to  me,  and  to  my  child,  for  on  this  food  I 
"  weaned  her.  It  made  me  think  of  Hagar  and  her 
"  babe,  and  of  the  God  who  watched  over  her." 

Passing  over  the  hardships  endured  by  these  emi- 
grants, which  were  greatly  augmented  by  the  fact 
that  war  was  then  raging  between  the  United  States 
and  the  Spanish  residents  of  California,  we  deem  it 
proper  to  here  incorporate,  as  matter  of  history, 
some  statements  of  Mrs.  Jackson,  made  to  the  Cali- 
fornia journals,  concerning  the  early  days  of  San 
Francisco.  She  says  : 

"  From  many  statements  made  by  persons  who 


THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM.  447 

"  have  lately  adopted  California  as  their  home,  I  am 
"  led  to  believe  it  is  the  general  impression  that  no 
"  American  civilized  beings  inhabited  this  region 
"  prior  to  the  discovery  of  gold  ;  and  that  the  news 
"  of  this  discovery  reaching  home,  brought  the  first 
"  adventurers.  As  yet  I  have  nowhere  seen  re- 
"  corded  the  fact  that  in  July,  1846,  the  ship  Brook- 
"  lyn  landed  on  the  shore  of  San  Francisco  bay  two 
"  hundred  and  fifty  passengers,  among  whom  were 
"  upwards  of  seventy  females ;  it  being  the  first  emi- 
"  gration  to  this  place  via  Cape  Horn. 

"In  October  previous  a  company  had  arrived 
"  overland,  most  of  whom  had  been  detained  at 
"  Sacramento  fort,  being  forbidden  by  the  governor 
"  to  proceed  further.  Upon  arriving  in  Yerba  Buena, 
"  in  '46,  we  found  two  of  these  families,  some  half 
"  dozen  American  gentlemen,  three  or  four  old  Cal- 
"  ifornians  with  their  families,  the  officers  and  ma- 
"  rines  of  the  sloop  of  war  Portsmouth,  and  about 
"  one  hundred  Indians,  occupying  the  place  now 
4<  called  San  Francisco. 

"  The  ship  Brooklyn  left  us  on  the  rocks  at  the 
"  foot  of  what  is  now  Broadway.  From  this  point 
"  we  directed  our  steps  to  the  old  adobe  on  (now) 
"  Dupont  street.  It  was  the  first  to  shelter  us  from 
"  the  chilling  winds.  A  little  further  on  (toward 
"Jackson  street),  stood  the  adobe  of  old  'English 
"  Jack/  who  kept  a  srort  of  depot  for  the  milk  woman, 
"  who  came  in  daily,  with  a  dozen  bottles  of  milk 
"  hung  to  an  old  horse,  and  which  they  retailed  at  a 
"  real  (twelve  and  a  half  cents)  per  bottle.  At  this 
"  time,  where  now  are  Jackson  and  Stockton  streets 
"  were  the  outer  boundaries  of  the  town.  Back  of 


448  THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM. 

"  the  home  of  '  English  Jack'  stood  a  cottage  built 
"  by  an  American  who  escaped  from  a  whale-ship 
"  and  married  a  Californian  woman.  Attached  to 
"this  house  was  a  windmill  and  a  shop.  In  this 
"  house  I  lived  during  the  winter  of  '46,  and  the 
"  principal  room  was  used  by  Dr.  Poet,  of  the  navy, 
"  as  a  hospital.  Here  were  brought  the  few  who 
"  were  saved  of  the  unfortunate  '  Donner  party/ 
"  whose  sad  fate  will  never  be  -forgotten.  One  of 
"  the  Donner  children,  a  girl  of  nine  years,  related 
"  to  me  that  her  father  was  the  first  of  that  party  to 
"  fall  a  victim  to  the  cold  and  hunger.  Her  mother 
"  then  came  on  with  the  children,  'till  the  babe  grew 
"  sick  and  she  was  unable  to  carry  it  further.  She 
"  told  the  children  to  go  on  with  the  company,  and 
"  if  the  babe  died,  or  she  got  stronger,  she  would 
"  come  to  them,  but  they  saw  her  no  more.  After 
"  this,  two  of  her  little  brothers  died,  and  she  told 
"me, with  tears  running  down  her  face, that  she  saw 
"  them  cooked,  and  had  to  eat  them  ;  but  added,  as 
"  though  fearful  of  having  committed  a  crime,  *  I 
"  could  not  help  it ;  I  had  eaten  nothing  for  days, 
"and  I  was  afraid  to  die.'  The' poor  child's  feet 
"  were  so  badly  frozen  that  her  toes  had  dropped 
"  off." 


Very  dramatic  and  picturesque  have  often  been 
the  situations  of  the  Mormon  sisters.  Here  is  the 
story  of  one  of  them,  among  the  natives  of  the  So- 
ciety Islands.  She  says : 

"  I  am  the  wife  of  the  late  Elder  Addison  Pratt, 
"  who  w*as  the  first  missionary  to  the  Society  Isknds» 


THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM.  449 

"  he  having  been  set  apart  by  the  prophet  for  this 
"mission  in  1843.  My  husband  went  on  his  mis- 
sion, but  I,  with  my  children,  was  left  to  journey 
"afterwards  with  the  body  of  the  church  to  the 
"  Rocky  Mountains. 

"We  reached  the  valley  in  the  fall  of  1848,  and 
"had  been  there  but  a  week  when  Elder  Pratt  ar- 
"  rived,  coming  by  the  northern  route  with  soldiers 
"from  the  Mexican  war.  He  had  been  absent  five 
"years  and  four  months.  Only  one  of  his  children 
"  recognized  him,  which  affected  him  deeply.  One 
"  year  passed  away  in  comparative  comfort  and 
"pleasure,  when  again  Mr.  Pratt  was  called  to  go 
"  and  leave  his  family,  and  again  I  was  left  to  my 
"own  resources.  However,  six  months  afterwards 
"  several  elders  were  called  to  join  Elder  Pratt  in 
"the  Pacific  Isles,  and  myself  and  family  were  per- 
"  mitted  to  accompany  them.  Making  the  journey 
"  by  ox-team  to  San  Francisco,  on  the  I5th  of  Sep- 
"tember,  1850,  we  embarked  for  Tahiti.  Sailing  to 
"  the  southwest  of  that  island  three  hundred  and 
"sixty  miles  we  made  the  Island  of  Tupuai,  where 
"Mr.  Pratt  had  formerly  labored,  and  where  we  ex- 
"pected  to  find  him,  but  to  our  chagrin  found  that 
"  he  was  a  prisoner  under  the  French  governor  at 
"  Tahiti.  After  counseling  upon  the  matter  we  de- 
"  cided  to  land  on  Tupuai  and  petition  the  governor 
"  of  Tahiti  for  Mr.  Pratt's  release,  which  we  did, 
"  aided  by  the  native  king,  who  promised  to  be 
"  responsible  for  Mr.  Pratt's  conduct.  The  petition 
"  was  granted  by  the  governor,  and  in  due  course 
"Mr.  Pratt  joined  us  at  Tupuai.  It  was  a  day  of 
"great  rejoicing  among  the  natives  when  he  arrived, 

29 


450  THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM. 

"  they  all  being  much  attached  to  him,  and  it  was 
"also  a  great  day  for  our  children. 

"  A  volume  might  be  written  in  attempting  to 
"describe  the  beauties  of  nature  on  that  little  speck 
"  in  the  midst  of  the  great  ocean  ;  but  I  must  hasten 
"to  speak  of  the  people.  Simple  and  uncultivated 
"as  the  natives  are,  they  are  nevertheless  a  most 
"loveable  and  interesting  race.  Their  piety  is  deep 
"  and  sincere  and  their  faith  unbounded. 

"  Within  a  year  I  became  a  complete  master  of 
"  their  language,  and  addressed  them  publicly  in  the 
" fere-bur e-r a  (prayer-house),  frequently.  My  daily 
"employment,  was  teaching  in  the  various  depart- 
"  ments  of  domestic  industry,  such  as  needle-work, 
"  knitting,  etc.,  and  my  pupils,  old  and  young,  were 
"both  industrious  and  apt." 

Elder  Addison  Pratt  died  in  1872,  but  his  re- 
spected missionary  wife  is  living  in  Utah  to-day, 
resting  from  her  labors  and  waiting  for  the  reward 
of  the  faithful. 


A  somewhat  similar  experience  to  the  above  is 
that  of  Sister  Mildred  E.  Randall,  who  went  with 
her  husband,  at  a  later  date,  to  labor  in  the  Sand- 
wich Islands.  Her  first  mission  lasted  about 
eighteen  months,  and  her  second  one  three  years. 
On  her  third  mission  to  the  islands,  she  was  called 
to  go  without  her  husband ;  thus  making  her  to  be 
the  only  woman,  in  the  history  of  the  church,  who 
has  been  called  to  go  on  foreign  mission  indepen- 
dently of  her  husband 


THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM.  451 

In  this  connection  will  also  suitably  appear  Sister 
Elizabeth  Drake  Davis,  who  served  her  people  well 
while  in  the  Treasury  department  at  Washington. 

She  was  born  in  the  town  of  Axminster,  Devon- 
shire, England,  and  was  an  only  child.  Having  lost 
her  father  when  she  was  but  ten  years  of  age,  and 
not  being  particularly  attached  to  her  mother,  her 
life  became  markedly  lonely  and  desolate.  In  her 
extremity  she  sought  the  Lord  in  prayer,  when  a 
remarkable  vision  was  shown  her,  which  was  re- 
peated at  two  subsequent  times,  making  a  perma- 
nent impression  on  her  life,  and,  in  connection  with 
other  similar  experiences,  leading  her  to  connect 
herself  with  the  Church  of  Latter-day  Saints. 

After  being  widowed  in  her  native  land  she 
crossed  the  Atlantic  and  resided  for  two  years  in 
Philadelphia.  In  May,  1859,  w^tn  a  company  of 
Philadelphian  saints,  she  gathered  to  Florence,  for 
the  purpose  of  going  thence  to  Utah.  An  incident 
there  occurred  that  will  be  of  interest  to  the  reader. 
She  says  : 

"  We  reached  Florence  late  one  evening;  it  was 
"  quite  dark  and  raining ;  we  were  helped  from  the 
"wagons  and  put  in  one  of  the  vacant  houses— 
"  myself,  my  two  little  daughters  and  Sister  Sarah 
"  White.  Early  next  morning  we  were  aroused  by 
"some  one  knocking  at  the  door;  on  opening  it  we 
"found  a  little  girl  with  a  cup  of  milk  in  her  hand; 
"she  asked  if  there  was  'a  little  woman  there  with 
"  two  little  children/  '  Yes/  said  Sister  White,  'come 
:<in/  She  entered,  saying  to  me,  *  If  you  please  my 
"ma  wants  to  see  you ;  she  has  sent  this  milk  to 
4<  your  little  girls/  Her  mother's  name  was  strange  to 


452  THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM. 

"  me,  but  I  went,  thinking  to  find  some  one  that  I  had 
"  known.  She  met  me  at  the  door  with  both  hands 
"extended  in  welcome.  'Good  morning,  Sister 
"  Elizabeth/  said  she.  I  told  her  she  had  the  ad- 
"  vantage  of  me,  as  I  did  not  remember  ever  seeing 
"  her  before.  '  No/  said  she,  '  and  I  never  saw  you 
"  before.  I  am  Hyrum  Smith's  daughter  (Lovina 
"  Walker)  ;  my  father  appeared  to  me  three  times 
"last  night,  and  told  me  that  you  were  the  child  of 
"  God,  that  you  was  without  money,  provisions  or 
"friends,  and  that  I  must  help  you.'  It  is  needless 
"  to  add  that  this  excellent  lady  and  myself  were 
"  ever  thereafter  firm  friends,  until  her  death,  which 
"occurred  in  1876.  I  will  add  that  previous  to  her 
"  last  illness  I  had  not  seen  her  in  thirteen  years ; 
"that  one  night  her  father  appeared  to  me,  and 
"  making  himself  known,  said  his  daughter  was  in 
"sore  need;  I  found  the  message  was  too  true. 
"Yet  it  will  ever  be  a  source  of  gratitude  to  think  I 
"  was  at  last  able  to  return  her  generous  kindness 
"  to  me  when  we  were  strangers." 

Mrs.  Davis' husband  (she  having  married  a  second 
time)  enlisted  in  the  United  States  Army  in  March, 
1863.  Shortly  thereafter  she  received  an  appoint- 
ment as  clerk  in  the  Treasury  department  at  Wash- 
ington, which  position  she  held  until  November, 
1869,  when  she  resigned  in  order  to  prosecute,  un- 
hampered, a  design  which  she  had  formed  to  memo- 
rialize Congress  against  the  Cullom  bill.  In  this 
laudable  endeavor  she  was  singularly  successful; 
and  it  is  proper  to  add  that  by  dint  of  pure  pluck,  as 
against  extremely  discouraging  circumstances,  she 
secured  the  co-operation  of  Gen.  Butler,  and  Mr. 


THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM.  453 

Sumner,  the  great  Senator  from  Massachusetts.  It 
is  entirely  just  to  say  that  her  efforts  were  largely 
instrumental  in  modifying  the  course  of  Congress 
upon  the  Mormon  question,  at  that  time. 

Sister  Davis  is  at  present  one  of  the  active  women 
of  Utah,  and  will  doubtless  figure  prominently  in 
the  future  movements  of  the  sisterhood. 


The  story  of  Sister  Hannah  Booth  is  best  told  by 
herself.  She  says : 

"  I  was  born  in  Chumar,  India.  My  father  was  a 
"  native  of  Portugal,  and  my  mother  was  from  Man- 
"  ilia.  My  husband  was  an  officer  in  the  English 
"  army  in  India,  as  were  also  my  father  and  grand- 
"  father.  We  lived  in  affluent  circumstances,  keep- 
"  ing  nine  servants,  a  carriage,  etc.,  and  I  gave  my 
"  attention  to  the  profession  of  obstetrics. 

"  When  the  gospel  was  introduced  into  India,  my 
"  son  Charles,  who  was  civil  engineer  in  the  army, 
"  met  the  elders  traveling  by  sea,  and  was  converted. 
"  He  brought  to  me  the  gospel,  which  I  embraced 
"  with  joy,  and  from  that  time  was  eager  to  leave 
"  possessions,  friends,  children  and  country,  to  unite 
"  with  this  people.  My  son  George,  a  surgeon  in 
"  the  army,  remained  behind,  although  he  had  em- 
"  braced  the  gospel.  My  sister,  a  widow,  and  my 
"  son  Charles  and  his  wife — daughter  of  Lieutenant 
"  Kent,  son  of  Sir  Robert  Kent,  of  England — and 
"  their  infant  daughter,  came  with  me.  Reaching 
"  San  Francisco,  we  proceeded  thence  to  San  Ber- 
41  nardino,  arriving  there  in  1855.  Having,  in  India, 


454  THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM. 

"  had  no  occasion  to  perform  housework,  we  found 
"  ourselves  greatly  distressed  in  our  new  home,  by 
"  our  lack  of  such  needful  knowledge.  We  bought 
"  a  stove,  and  I  tried  first  to  make  a  fire.  I  made 
"  the  fire  in  the  first  place  that  opened  (the  oven), 
"  and  was  greatly  perplexed  by  its  smoking  and  not 
"  drawing.  We  were  too  mortified  to  let  our  ignor- 
"  ance  be  known,  and  our  bread  was  so  badly  made, 
"  and  all  our  cooking  so  wretchedly  done,  that  we 
"  often  ate  fruit  and  milk  rather  than  the  food  we 
"  had  just  prepared.  We  also  bought  a  cow,  and  not 
"  knowing  how  to  milk  her,  had  great  trouble.  Four 
"  of  us  surrounded  her  ;  my  son  tied  her  head  to  the 
"  fence,  her  legs  to  a  post,  her  tail  to  another ;  and 
"  while  he  stood  by  to  protect  me,  my  sister  and 
"  daughter-in-law  to  suggest  and  advise,  I  proceeded 
"  to  milk — on  the  wrong  side,  as  I  afterwards  learned. 
"  After  a  while,  however,  some  good  sisters  kindly 
"  taught  us  how  to  work. 

"  Just  as  we  had  become  settled  in  our  own  new 
"  house  the  saints  prepared  to  leave  San  Bernardino 
"  — in  the  winter  of  '56-7.  We  sold  our  home  at 
"  great  sacrifice,  and,  six  of  us  in  one  wagon,  with 
"two  yoke  of  Spanish  oxen,  started  for  Utah.  On 
"  the  desert  our  oxen  grew  weak  and  our  supplies 
"  began  to  give  out.  We,  who  at  home  in  India  had 
"  servants  at  every  turn,  now  had  to  walk  many 
"  weary  miles,  through  desert  sands,  and  in  climbing 
"  mountains.  My  sister  and  I  would,  in  the  morn- 
"  ing,  bind  our  cashmere  scarfs  around  our  waists, 
"  take  each  a  staff,  and  with  a  small  piece  of  bread 
"  each,  we  would  walk  ahead  of  the  train.  At  noon 
"  we  would  rest,  ask  a  blessing  upon  the  bread,  and 


THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM.  455 

"  go  on.  Weary,  footsore  and  hungry,  we  never  re- 
"  gretted  leaving  our  luxurious  homes,  nor  longed  to 
"  return.  We  were  thankful  for  the  knowledge  that 

o 

11  had  led  us  away,  and  trusted  God  to  sustain  us  in 
"  our  trials  and  lead  us  to  a  resting-place  among  the 
"  saints.  After  our  journey  ended,  we  began  anew 
"  to  build  a  home. 

"  I  am,  after  twenty  years  among  this  people, 
"  willing  to  finish  my  days  with  them,  whatever  their 
"  lot  and  trials  may  be,  and  I  pray  God  for  his  holy 
"  spirit  to  continue  with  me  to  the  end." 


Nor  should  we  omit  to  mention  Mrs.  Willmirth 
East,  now  in  her  64th  year,  who  was  converted  to 
Mormonism  while  residing  with  her  father's  family 
in  Texas,  in  1853.  Her  ancestors  fought  in  the 
Revolutionary  war,  and  her  father,  Nathaniel  H. 
Greer,  was  a  member  of  the  legislature  of  Georgia, 
and  also  a  member  of  the  legislature  of  Texas,  after 
his  removal  to  that  State.  She  has  long  resided  in 
Utah,  is  a  living  witness  of  many  miracles  of  heal- 
ing, and  has  often  manifested  in  her  own  person  the 
remarkable  gifts  of  this  dispensation.  She  may  be 
accounted  one  of  the  most  enthusiastic  and  stead- 
fast of  the  saints. 


CHAPTER  XLVIII. 

A    LEADER    FROM    ENGLAND MRS    HANNAH    T.  KING 

A      MACDONALD      FROM      SCOTLAND THE     "WELSH 

QUEEN" — A  REPRESENTATIVE  WOMAN  FROM  IRE- 
LAND  SISTER  HOWARD A  GALAXY  OF  THE  SIS- 
TERHOOD, FROM  "  MANY  NATIONS  AND  TONGUES  " 

INCIDENTS  AND  TESTIMONIALS. 

Here  the  reader  meets  an  illustration  of  women 
from  many  nations  baptized  into  one  spirit,  and 
bearing  the  same  testimony. 

Mrs.  Hannah  T.  King,  a  leader  from  England, 
shall  now  speak.  She  says  : 

"In  1849,  while  living  in  my  home  in  Dernford 
"  Dale,  Cambridgeshire,  England,  my  attention  was 
"  first  brought  to  the  serious  consideration  of  Mor- 
"  monism  by  my  seamstress.  She  was  a  simple- 
"  minded  girl,  but  her  tact  and  respectful  ingenuity 
"  in  presenting  the  subject  won  my  attention,  and  I 
"  listened,  not  thinking  or  even  dreaming  that  her 
"  words  were  about  to  revolutionize  my  life. 

"I  need  not  follow  up  the  thread  of  my  thoughts 
"  thereafter ;  how  I  struggled  against  the  conviction 
"that  had  seized  my  mind;  how  my  parents  and 
"  friends  marveled  at  the  prospect  of  my  leaving  the 
"  respectable  church  associations  of  a  life-time  and 


THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM.  457 

"  uniting  with  '  such  a  low  set ' ;  how  I  tried  to  be 
"  content  with  my  former  belief,  and  cast  the  new 
"  out  of  mind,  but  all  to  no  purpose.  Suffice  it  to 
"  say  I  embraced  the  gospel,  forsook  the  aristocratic 
"associations  of  the  *  High  Church'  congregation 
"  with  which  I  had  long  been  united,  and  became  an 
"  associate  with  the  poor  and  meek  of  the  earth. 

"  I  was  baptized  Nov.  4th,  1850,  as  was  also  my 
"  beloved  daughter.  My  good  husband,  although  not 
"  persuaded  to  join  the  church,  consented  to  emi- 
"  grate  with  us  to  Utah,  which  we  did  in  the  year 
"  1853,  bringing  quite  a  little  company  with  us  at 
"  Mr.  King's  expense." 

Since  her  arrival  in  the  valley,  Mrs.  King  has  been 
constantly  prominent  among  the  women  of  Utah. 
Her  name  is  also  familiar  as  a  poetess,  there  having 
emanated  from  her  pen  some  very  creditable  poems. 


Scotland  comes  next  with  a  representative  woman 
in  the  person  of  Elizabeth  G.  MacDonald.  She 
says  : 

"  I  was  born  in  the  city  of  Perth,  Perthshire, 
"Scotland,  on  the  i2th  of  January,  1831,  and  am 
"  the  fifth  of  ten  daughters  born  to  my  parents,  John 
"  and  Christina  Graham. 

"  My  attention  was  first  brought  to  the  church  of 
"  Latter-day  Saints  in  1846,  and  in  1847  I  was  bap- 
*'  tized  and  confirmed,  being  the  second  person  bap- 
"  tized  into  the  church  in  Perth.  This  course 
"  brought  down  upon  me  so  much  persecution,  from 
"  which  I  was  not  exempt  in  my  own  father's  house, 


458  THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM. 

"  that  I  soon  left  home  and  went  to  Edinburgh. 
"  There  I  was  kindly  received  by  a  Sister  Gibson 
"  and  welcomed  into  her  house.  After  two  years 
"  had  passed  my  father  came  to  me  and,  manifesting- 
"  a  better  spirit  than  when  I  saw  him  last,  prevailed 
"  upon  me  to  return  with  him.  He  had  in  the  mean- 
"  time  become  partially  paralyzed,  and  had  to  use  a 
"  crutch.  Two  weeks  after  my  return  he  consented 
"  to  be  baptized.  While  being  baptized  the  afHic- 
"  tion  left  him,  and  he  walked  home  without  his 
"  crutch,  to  the  astonishment  of  all  who  knew  him. 
"  This  was  the  signal  for  a  great  work,  and  the 
"  Perth  branch,  which  previously  had  numbered  but 
"two,  soon  grew  to  over  one  hundred  and  fifty 
"  members. 

''In  May,  '51,  I  was  married  to  Alexander  Mac- 
"  Donald,  then  an  elder  in  the  church.  He  went 
"  immediately  on  mission  to  the  Highlands ;  but  in 
"  1852  he  was  called  to  take  charge  of  the  Liverpool 
"  conference,  whither  I  went  with  him,  and  there  we 
"  made  our  first  home  together. 

"  In  May,  '53,  I  fell  down  stairs,  which  so  seri- 
"  ously  injured  me  that  I  remained  bedridden  until 
"  the  following  marvelous  occurrence :  One  Satur- 
"  day  afternoon  as  I  was  feeling  especially  depressed 
"  and  sorrowful,  and  while  my  neighbor,  Mrs.  Kent, 
"  who  had  just  been  in,  was  gone  to  her  home  for 
"  some  little  luxury  for  me,  as  I  turned  in  my  bed  I 
"  was  astonished  to  behold  an  aged  man  standing  at 
"  the  foot.  As  I  somewhat  recovered  from  my  natu- 
"  ral  timidity  he  came  towards  the  head  of  the  bed 
"  and  laid  his  hands  upon  me,  saying,  '  I  lay  my 
"  hands  upon  thy  head  and  bless  thee  in  the  name 


THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM.  459 

"of  the  God  of  Abraham,  Isaac  and  Jacob.  The 
"  Lord  hath  seen  the  integrity  of  thine  heart.  In 
"  tears  and  sorrow  thou  hast  bowed  before  the  Lord, 
"  asking  for  children ;  this  blessing  is  about  to  be 
"  granted  unto  thee.  Thou  shalt  be  blessed  with 
"  children  from  this  hour.  Thou  shalt  be  gathered 
"  to  the  valleys  of  the  mountains,  and  there  thou 
"  shalt  see  thy  children  raised  as  tender  plants  by 
"  thy  side.  Thy  children  and  household  shall  call 
"  thee  blessed.  At  present  thy  husband  is  better 
"  than  many  children.  Be  comforted.  These  bless- 
"  ings  I  seal  upon  thee,  in  the  name  of  Jesus. 
"  Amen.'  At  this  moment  Sister  Kent  came  in,  and 
"  I  saw  no  more  of  this  personage.  His  presence 
"  was  so  impressed  upon  me  that  I  can  to  this  day 
"  minutely  describe  his  clothing  and  countenance. 

"  The  next  conference,  after  this  visitation, 
"  brought  the  word  that  Brother  MacDonald  was  re- 
"  leased  to  go  to  the  valley,  being  succeeded  by  Elder 
"  Spicer  W.  Crandall.  We  started  from  Liverpool 
"  in  March,  '54,  and  after  the  usual  vicissitudes  of 
"  sea  and  river  navigation,  finally  went  into  camp 
"  near  Kansas  Village  on  the  Missouri.  From  there 
"we  started  for  Utah  in  Capt.  Daniel  Cams'  com- 
"  pany,  reaching  Salt  Lake  City  on  the  3Oth  of  Sep- 
"  tember. 

"  In  1872  my  husband  was  appointed  to  settle  in 
"  St.  George,  where  we  arrived  about  the  middle  of 
"  November.  Here  we  have  since  remained,  and  I 
"  have  taken  great  pleasure  in  this  southern  country, 
"  especially  in  having  my  family  around  me,  in  the 
"  midst  of  good  influences.  The  people  here  are 
"  sociable  and  kind,  and  we  have  no  outside  influ- 


460  THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM. 

"  ences  to  contend  with.     All  are  busy  and  industri- 
"  ous  and  striving  to  live  their  religion." 


The  wife  of  the  famous  Captain  Dan  Jones,  the 
founder  of  the  Welsh  mission,  is  chosen  to  repre- 
sent her  people.  She  thus  sketches  her  life  to  the 
period  of  her  arrival  in  Zion : 

"I  was  born  April  2d,  1812,  in  Claddy,  South 
"Wales.  My  parents  were  members  of  the  Baptist 
"  Church,  which  organization  I  joined  when  fifteen 
"years  of  age.  In  1846,  several  years  after  my 
"  marriage,  while  keeping  tavern,  a  stranger  stopped 
"  with  us  for  refreshments,  and  while  there  unfolded 
"  to  me  some  of  the  principles  of  the,  then  entirely 
"new  to  me,  Church  of  Latter-day  Saints.  His 
"  words  made  a  profound  impression  upon  my  mind, 
"which  impression  was  greatly  heightened  by  a 
"dream  which  I  had  shortly  thereafter;  but  it  was 
"  some  time  before  I  could  learn  more  of  the  new 
"  doctrine.  I  made  diligent  inquiry,  however,  and 
"  was  finally,  by  accident,  privileged  to  hear  an  elder 
"preach.  In  a  conversation  with  him  afterwards  I 
"  became  thoroughly  convinced  of  the  truth  of  Mor- 
"  monism,  and  was  accordingly  baptized  into  the 
"church.  This  was  in  1847.  After  this  my  house 
"became  a  resort  for  the  elders,  and  I  was  the  spe- 
"  cial  subject  of  persecution  by  my  neighbors. 

"In  1848  I  began  making  preparations  to  leave 
"  my  home  and  start  for  the  valley.  Everything  was 
"sold,  including  a  valuable  estate,  and  I  determined 
"  to  lay  it  all  upon  the  altar  in  an  endeavor  to  aid 


THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM.  461 

"  my  poorer  friends  in  the  church  to  emigrate  also. 
"In  1849  I  bade  farewell  to  home,  country  and 
"friends,  and  with  my  six  children  set  out  for  the 
"  far-off  Zion.  After  a  voyage,  embodying  the. 
"  usual  hardships,  from  Liverpool  to  New  Orleans, 
"  thence  up  the  Mississippi  and  Missouri  rivers  to 
"  Council  Bluffs,  some  fifty  fellow-passengers  dying 
"  with  cholera  on  the  way,  in  the  early  summer  I 
"  started  across  the  plains.  I  had  paid  the  passage 
"  of  forty  persons  across  the  ocean  and  up  to  Coun- 
"  cil  Bluffs,  and  from  there  I  provided  for  and  paid 
"  the  expenses  of  thirty-two  to  Salt  Lake  City. 
"  Having  every  comfort  that  could  be  obtained,  we 
"perhaps  made  the  trip  under  as  favorable  circum- 
"  stances  as  any  company  that  has  ever  accom- 
"  plished  the  journey." 

For  her  magnanimous  conduct  in  thus  largely 
helping  the  emigration  of  the  Welsh  saints,  coupled 
with  her  social  standing  in  her  native  country,  she 
was  honored  with  the  title  of  "  The  Welsh  Queen." 
The  title  is  still  familiar  in  connection  with  her 
name.  Since  her  arrival  in  Zion  she  has  known 
many  trials,  but  is  still  firm  in  the  faith  of  the 
Latter-day  work. 


The  following  is  a  brief  personal  sketch  of  Mrs. 
Howard,  an  Irish  lady,  of  popularity  and  promi- 
nence in  Utah: 

"  Presuming  there  are  many  persons  who  believe 
"there  are  no  Irish  among  the  Mormons,  I  wish  to 
41  refute  the  belief,  as  there  are  many  in  our  various 
"towns,  most  staunch  and  faithful. 


462  THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM. 

"  My  parents,  Robert  and  Lucretia  Anderson,  re- 
"  sided  in  Carlow,  County  Carlow,  Ireland,  where, 
"on  the  1 2th  of  July,  1823,  I  was  born.  In  1841 
"  my  beloved  mother  died,  and  in  the  same  year  I 
"  married,  and  went  to  reside  in  Belfast  with  my 
"  husband. 

"My  father,  who  was  a  thorough  reformer  in  his 
"  method  of  thought,  originally  suggested  several 
"governmental  and  social  innovations  that  were 
"  afterwards  adopted  by  the  government  and  the 
"people.  He  died  in  1849. 

"  My  parents  were  Presbyterians,  in  which  faith  I 
'•  was  strictly  brought  up  ;  but  I  early  came  to  the 
"  conclusion  that  my  father  was  right  when  he  said, 
"as  I  heard  him  one  day:  'The  true  religion  is  yet 
"  to  come/  After  my  marriage  I  attended  the 
"  Methodist  Church  mostly,  led  a  moral  life,  tried 
"  to  be  honest  in  deal,  and  '  did'  (as  well  as  circum- 
"  stances  would  allow)  '  unto  others  as  I  would  they 
"should- do  to  me/  I  thus  went  on  quietly,  until 
"the  '  true  religion'  was  presented  to  me  by  a  Mr. 
"  and  Mrs.  Daniel  M.  Bell,  of  Ballygrot.  My  rea- 
"  son  was  satisfied,  and  I  embraced  the  truth  with 
"  avidity. 

"  In  February,  1858,  my  husband,  myself  and  our 
"six  children  left  Ireland  on  the  steamship  City  of 
"  Glasgow,  and  in  due  time  arrived  at  Council 
"  Bluffs.  Starting  across  the  plains,  the  first  day 
"  out  I  sustained  a  severe  accident  by  being  thrown 
"  from  my  carriage,  but  this  did  not  deter  us,  and 
"  we  arrived  all  safe  and  well  ia  Salt  Lake  City  on 
"the  25th  of  September. 

"In  1868  I  went  with  my  husband   on  a  mission 


THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM.  463 

44  to  England ;  had  a  pleasant,  interesting  time,  and 
"  astonished  many  who  thought  '  no  good  thing 
"  could  come  out  of  Utah.'  While  there  I  was  the 
41  subject  of  no  little  curious  questioning,  and  there- 
4*  fore  had  many  opportunities  of  explaining  the 
"  principles  of  the  gospel.  There  was  one  principle 
41  I  gloried  in  telling  them  about — the  principle  of 
"  plural  marriage ;  and  I  spared  no  pains  in  speak- 
41  ing  of  the  refining,  exalting  influence  that  was 
41  carried  with  the  doctrine,  wherever  entered  into  in 
"  a  proper  manner." 

Sister  Howard  has  not  exaggerated  in  claiming 
that  the  Irish  nation  has  been  fairly  represented  in 
the  Mormon  Church.  Some  of  its  most  talented 
members  have  been  directly  of  that  descent,  though 
it  is  true  that  Mormonism  never  took  deep  root  in 
Ireland ;  but  that  is  no  more  than  a  restatement  of 
the  fact  that  Protestantism  of  any  kind  has  never 
flourished  in  that  Catholic  country. 

Of  the  esteemed  lady  in  question  it  maybe  added 
that  she  is  one  of  the  most  prominent  of  the  women 
of  Utah,  one  of  the  councilors  of  Mrs.  President 
Home,  and  a  leader  generally,  in  those  vast  female 
organizations  and  movements  inspired  by  Eliza  R. 
Snow,  in  the  solution  of  President  Young's  peculiar 
society  problems. 


Scandinavia  shall  be  next  represented  among  the 
nationalities  in  the  church.  The  Scandinavian  mis- 
sion has  been  scarcely  less  important  than  the  British 
mission.  It  is  not  as  old,  but  to-day  it  is  the  most 
vigorous,  and  for  the  last  quarter  of  a  century  it  has 


464  THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM. 

been  pouring  its  emigrations  into  Utah  by  the 
thousands.  Indeed  a  very  large  portion  of  the 
population  of  Utah  has  been  gathered  from  the 
Scandinavian  peoples.  The  mission  was  opened 
by  Apostle  Erastus  Snow,  in  the  year  1850.  One 
of  the  first  converts  of  this  apostle,  Anna  Nilson, 
afterwards  became  his  wife.  Here  is  the  brief  notice 
which  she  gives  of  herself: 

"  I  am  the  daughter  of  Hans  and  Caroline  Nilson, 
"and  was  born  on  the  ist  of  April,  1825,  in  a  little 
"  village  called  Dalby,  in  the  Province  of  Skaana,  in 
"the  kingdom  of  Sweden.  At  the  age  of  seventeen 
"  I  removed  to  Copenhagen,  Denmark.  There,  in 
"  1850,  when  the  elders  from  Zion  arrived,  I  gladly 
"  received  the  good  news,  and  was  the  first  woman 
"  baptized  into  the  Church  of  Latter-day  Saints  in 
"that  kingdom.  The  baptism  took  place  on  the 
"  1 2th  of  August,  1850;  there  were  fifteen  of  us; 
"  the  ordinance  was  performed  by  Elder  Erastus 
"  Snow.  Some  time  after  this  we  hired  a  hall  for 
"  our  meetings,  which  called  public  attention  to  us 
"  in  some  degree,  whereupon  we  became  the  subjects 
"  of  rowdyism  and  violent  persecution.  One  even- 
"  ing  in  particular,  I  recollect  that  I  was  at  a  meet- 
"  ing  in  a  village  some  eight  miles  out  from  Copen- 
1  hagen  ;  as  we  started  to  go  home  we  were  assailed 
"  by  a  mob  which  followed  and  drove  us  for  several 
"  miles.  Some  of  the  brethren  were  thrown  into 
"  ditches  and  trampled  upon,  and  the  sisters  also 
"  were  roughly  handled.  Finding  myself  in  the 
"  hands  of  ruffians,  I  called  on  my  heavenly  Father, 
"  and  they  dropped  me  like  a  hot  iron.  They  pelted 
"  us  with  stones  and  mud,  tore  our  clothes,  and 


THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM.  465 

"  abused  us  in  every  way  they  could.  These  perse- 
"  cutions  continued  some  weeks,  until  finally  stop- 
"  ped  by  the  military. 

"  In  1852,  one  week  before  Christmas,  I  left  Co- 
"  penhagen,  in  the  first  large  company,  in  charge  of 
"  Elder  Forssgren.  We  encountered  a  terrible  storm 
"  at  the  outset,  but  were  brought  safely  through  to 
"  Salt  Lake  City,  where  I  have  since  resided." 


A  Norwegian  sister,  Mrs.  Sarah  A.  Peterson,  the 
wife  of  a  well-known  missionary,  has  remembrance 
next.  She  says : 

"  I  was  born  in  the  town  of  Murray,  Orleans 
"county,  N.  Y.,  February  16,  1827.  My  parents, 
"  Cornelius  and  Carrie  Nelson,  were  among  the  first 
"  Norwegians  who  emigrated  to  America.  They 
"left  Norway  on  account  of  having  joined  the  Qua- 
"  kers,  who,  at  that  time,  were  subject  to  much 
"  persecution  in  that  country.  In  the  neighborhood 
"was  quite  a  number  of  that  sect,  and  they  con- 
"  eluded  to  emigrate  to  America  in  a  body.  As 
"  there  was  no  direct  line  of  emigration  between 
"  Norway  and  America,  they  purchased  a  sloop,  in 
"  which  they  performed  the  voyage.  Having  been 
"raised  on  the  coast,  they  were  all  used  to  the  duties 
"  of  seamen,  and  found  no  trouble  in  navigating 
"  their  vessel.  They  also  brought  a  small  cargo  of 
"  iron  with  them,  which,  together  with  the  vessel, 
"  they  sold  in  New  York,  and  then  moved  to  the 
"  northwestern  portion  of  that  State,  and  settled  on 
"  a  wild  tract  of  woodland.  Eight  years  afterwards 

30 


466  THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM. 

"  my  father  died.  I  was  at  that  time  six  years  old. 
"  When  I  was  nine  years  old  my  uncle  went  to  Illi- 
"  nois,  whence  he  returned  with  the  most  glowing 
"  accounts  of  the  fertility  of  the  soil,  with  plenty  of 
"  land  for  sale  at  government  price.  The  company 
"  disposed  of  their  farms  at  the  rate  of  fifty  dollars 
"  per  acre,  and  again  moved  from  their  homes,  set- 
tling on  the  Fox  River,  near  Ottawa,  111.  Here, 
"  when  fourteen  years  of  age,  I  first  heard  the  gos- 
"pel,  and  at  once  believed  in  the  divine  mission  of 
"the  prophet  Joseph ;  but  on  account  of  the  oppo- 
sition of  relatives,  was  prevented  joining  the 
"church  until  four  years  later. 

"In  the  spring  of  1849  ^  ^e^  mother  and  home 
"  and  joined  a  company  who  were  preparing  to  leave 
"for  the  valley.  On  our  way  to  Council  Bluffs  I 
"  was  attacked  with  cholera.  But  there  was  a  young 
"gentleman  in  the  company  by  the  name  of  Canute 
"  Peterson,  who,  after  a  season  of  secret  prayer  in 
"  my  behalf,  came  and  placed  his  hands  upon  my 
"head,  and  I  was  instantly  healed.  Two  weeks 
"  after  our  arrival  at  the  Bluffs  I  was  married  to 
"  him.  We  joined  Ezra  T.  Benson's  company,  and 
"arrived  in  Salt  Lake  City  on  the  25th  of  October, 
"  and  spent  the  winter  following  in  the  '  Old  Fort.' 
"In  1851  we  removed  to  Dry  Creek,  afterwards 
"  called  Lehi.  My  husband  was  among  the  very 
41  first  to  survey  land  and  take  up  claims  there.  In 
"'  1852  he  was  sent  on  mission  to  Norway.  During 
"  the  four  years  he  was  absent  I  supported  myself 
"  and  the  two  children.  In  1856  he  returned,  much 
"broken  in  health  because  of  his  arduous  labor  and 
"  exposure  in  the  rigorous  climate  of  that  country. 


THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM.  467 

"  In  the  fall  of  1857  my  husband  added  another 
"wife to  his  family;  but  I  can  truly  say  that  he  did 
"  not  do  so  without  my  consent,  nor  with  any  other 
"  motive  than  to  serve  his  God.  I  felt  it  our  duty 
"  to  obey  the  commandment  revealed  through  the 
"prophet  Joseph,  hence,  although  I  felt  it  to  be 
"  quite  a  sacrifice,  I  encouraged  him  in  so  doing. 
"  Although  not  so  very  well  supplied  with  house- 
""  room,  the  second  wife  and  I  lived  together  in  har- 
4<  mony  and  peace.  I  felt  it  a  pleasure  to  be  in  her 
41  company,  and  even  to  nurse  and  take  care  of  her 
"  children,  and  she  felt  the  same  way  toward  me  and 
"  my  children.  A  few  years  afterwards  my  husband 
41  married  another  wife,  but  also  with  the  consent 
"and  encouragement  of  his  family.  This  did  not 
"  disturb  the  peaceful  relations  of  our  home,  but  the 
41  same  kind  feelings  were  entertained  by  each  mem- 
"  ber  of  the  family  to  one  another.  We  have  now 
41  lived  in  polygamy  twenty  years,  have  eaten  at  the 
41  same  table  and  raised  our  children  together,  and 
"  have  never  been  separated,  nor  have  we  ever  wished 
41  to  be." 

Mrs.  Peterson  is  the  present  very  efficient  Presi- 
dent of  the  Relief  Society  at  Ephraim,  which  up  to 
date  has  disbursed  over  eleven  thousand  dollars. 


Here  will  also  properly  appear  a  short  sketch  of 
Bishop  Hickenlooper'swife  Ann,  who  made  herway 
to  Zion  with  the  famous  hand-cart  company,  under 
Captain  Edmund  Ellsworth.  She  had  left  home  and 
friends  in  England  in  1856,  coming  to  Council 


468  THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM. 

Bluffs  with  the  regular  emigration  of  that  year,  and 
continuing  her  journey  with  the  hand-cart  company, 
as  before  stated  From  her  journal  we  quote  : 

"  After  traveling  fourteen  weeks  we  arrived  in 
"  the  near  vicinity  of  Salt  Lake  City,  where  Presi- 
"  dent  Young  and  other  church  leaders,  with  a  brass 
"  band  and  a  company  of  military,  met  and  escorted 
"  us  into  the  city.  As  we  entered,  and  passed  on  to 
"the  public  square  in  the  1 6th  Ward,  the  streets 
"  were  thronged  with  thousands  of  people  gazing 
"  upon  the  scene.  President  Young  called  on  the 
"bishops  and  people  to  bring  us  food.  In  a  short 
"  time  we  could  see  loads  of  provisions  coming  to 
"  our  encampment.  After  partaking  of  refreshments 
"  our  company  began  to  melt  away,  by  being  taken 
"  to  the  homes  of  friends  who  had  provided  for  them. 
"  I  began  to  feel  very  lonely,  not  knowing  a  single 
"  person  in  the  country,  and  having  no  relatives  to 
"  welcome  me.  I  felt  indeed  that  I  was  a  stranger 
"  in  a  strange  land.  Presently,  however,  it  was  ar- 
"  ranged  that  I  should  go  to  live  with  Mr.  Hicken- 
"  looper's  people,  he  being  bishop  of  the  6th  Ward. 
"  After  becoming  acquainted  with  the  family,  to 
"  whom  I  became  much  attached,  his  first  wife  invited 
"  me  to  come  into  the  family  as  the  bishop's  third 
"  wife,  which  invitation,  after  mature  consideration, 
"  I  accepted. 

"  I  am  now  the  mother  of  five  children,  and  for 
"  twenty  years  have  lived  in  the  same  house  with 
"  the  rest  of  the  family,  and  have  eaten  at  the  same 
"  table.  My  husband  was  in  Nauvoo  in  the  days  of 
"  the  prophet  Joseph,  and  moved  with  the  saints 
"  from  winter  quarters  to  this  city,  where  he  has  been 


THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM.  469 

"  bishop  of  the  6th  Ward  twenty-nine  years,  and  of 
41  the  5th  and  6th  Wards  fifteen  years." 


Several  of  the  sisters  who  first  received  the  gos- 
pel in  England  and  emigrated  to  Nauvoo  during 
the  lifetime  of  the  prophet,  claim  historic  mention. 
Ruth  Moon,  wife  of  William  Clayton  (who  during 
the  last  days  of  Joseph  became  famous  as  his  scribe), 
was  among  the  first  fruits  of  the  British  mission. 
With  her  husband  she  sailed  in  the  first  organized 
company  of  emigrant  saints  on  board  the  North 
America.  Here  are  a  few  items  worth  preserving, 
from  her  diary  of  that  voyage : 

"  Friday,  Sept.  4,  1840. — Bid  good-bye  to  Pen- 
wortham,  and  all  started  by  rail  to  Liverpool,  where 
we  arrived  about  5  o'clock,  and  immediately  went 
on  board  the  packet-ship  North  America,  Captain 
Loeber,  then  lying  in  Prince's  dock. 

"  Tuesday,  Sept.  8. — At  eight  o'clock  the  ship  left 
the  dock ;  was  towed  out  into  the  river  Mersey,  and 
set  sail  for  New  York.  On  getting  into  the  English 
Channel  we  were  met  by  strong  head-winds,  which 
soon  increased  to  a  gale,  compelling  the  ship  to 
change  her  course  and  sail  around  the  north  coast 
of  Ireland.  The  decks  were  battened  down  three 
days  and  nights.  During  the  gale  four  of  the  prin- 
cipal sails  were  blown  away,  and  the  ship  otherwise 
roughly  used. 

"  Saturday,  Sept.  12. — The  storm  having  abated, 
we  had  a  very  pleasant  view  of  the  north  part  of 
Ireland,  farms  and  houses  being  in  plain  sight. 

"  Tuesday,  Sept.  22. — About  eleven  o'clock  the 
company  was  startled  by  the  ominous  cry  of  the 
shief  mate, 'All  hands  on  deck,  and  buckets  with 


47O  THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM. 

water.'     The  ship  had  taken  fire  under  the  cook's 
galley.     The  deck  was  burned  through,  fire  dropping 
on  the  berths  underneath.     It  was  soon  extinguished 
without  serious  damage  having  been  done. 
"Sunday,  Oct.  n. — Arrived  in  New  York." 

They  journeyed  thence  by  steamer  up  the  Hud- 
son river  to  Albany ;  by  canal  from  Albany  to  Buf- 
falo ;  by  steamer  thence  to  Chicago  ;  and  by  flat-boat 
down  the  Rock  river  to  Nauvoo,  where  they  arrived 
Nov.  24th. 


Elizabeth  Birch,  who  was  born  in  Lancashire, 
England,  in  1810,  was  a  widow  with  four  children 
when  she  first  heard  the  gospel,  which  wras  brought 
to  Preston,  by  the  American  elders,  in  1837.  The 
new  religion  created  great  excitement  in  that  sec- 
tion, and  people  often  walked  ten  miles  and  more  to 
hear  the  elders  preach.  She  was  baptized  at  Pres- 
ton, on  the  24th  of  Dec.,  1838.  In  1841  she  sailed 
in  the  ship  Sheffield  for  New  Orleans,  and  thence 
up  the  Mississippi  river  in  the  second  company  of 
saints  that  sailed  for  America.  In  the  fall  of  that 
year  she  was  married  to  Mr.  Birch.  .  Her  husband 
being  one  of  those  designated  to  help  finish  the 
temple  at  Nauvoo  they  were  in  the  city  during  the 
famous  battle  of  Nauvoo.  Her  recollections  of  that 
perilous  event  are  very  vivid.  During  the  fight  one 
of  the  sisters  brought  into  her  house  a  cannon-ball 

o 

which  she  had  picked  up,  just  from  the  enemy's  bat- 
tery. It  was  too  hot  to  be  handled.  They  reached 
the  valley  in  1850. 

Concerning  polygamy,  she  says:    "In    1858,  my 


THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM.  471 

"  husband  having  become  convinced  that  the  doc- 
"  trine  of  celestial  marriage  and  plurality  of  wives 
"was  true,  instructed  me  in  regard  to  it;  and  be- 
"  coming  entirely,  satisfied  that  the  principle  is  not 
"  only  true,  but  that  it  is  commanded,  I  gave  my 
"  consent  to  his  taking  another  wife,  by  whom  he  had 
"  one  daughter  ;  and  again  in  1860  I  consented  to  his 
"  taking  another  one,  by  whom  he  had  a  large  family 
"  of  children.  These  children  we  have  raised  to- 
"  gether,  and  I  love  them  as  if  they  were  my  own. 
"  Our  husband  has  been  dead  two  years,  but  we  still 
"  live  together  in  peace,  and  each  contributes  to  the 
"  utmost  for  the  support  of  the  family." 


Lucy  Clayton,  wife  of  Elder  Thomas  Bullock, 
was  the  first  of  the  saints  to  enter  Carthage  jail 
after  the  martyrdom  of  Joseph  and  Hyrum.  She 
tells  a  graphic  tale  of  the  excitement  of  the  people 
of  Carthage  on  that  occasion — how  they  fled,  panic- 
stricken,  from  their  homes,  led  by  Governor  Ford, 
thinking  that  the  people  of  Nauvoo  would  vvreak 
vengeance  upon  them  for  the  murder  that  had  been 
committed  in  their  midst.  She  was  also  among  the 
remnant  of  the  sick  and  dying  saints  oi_  the  banks 
of  the  Mississippi,  after  the  expulsion,  when  they 
were  miraculously  fed  by  quails  thic  alighted  in 
their  midst.  This  is  an  often-told  wonder,  and  is 
classed  with  the  immortal  episode  jf  the  children  of 
Israel,  fed  by  quails  in  the  wilder  .aess. 


The  wife   of  Thomas   Sir  -th  is  also   entitled   to 


472  THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM. 

historic  mention.  Her  husband,  in  the  early  days 
of  the  British  mission,  made  a  great  stir  in  England, 
as  a  Mormon  elder,  and  she  was  with  him  in  his 
ministry.  He  bore  the  euphonious  epithet  of 
"  Rough  Tom."  Having  both  the  genius  and  fame 
of  an  iconoclast,  he  disputed,  on  the  platform,  with 
the  same  sectarian  champions  who  met  the  great 
infidels  Holyoke,  Barker  and  Bradlaugh.  His  career 
as  a  Mormon  elder  was  quite  a  romance,  and  in  all 
its  scenes  his  wife,  Sister  Sarah,  was  a  participant, 
though  she  was  as  gentle  in  spirit  as  he  was  bold 
and  innovative.  A  famous  career  was  theirs,  and 
the  spiritual  power  and  signs  that  followed  them 
were  astonishing.  He  was  full  of  prophesy,  and 
she  spake  in  tongues.  He  also  cast  out  devils  by 
the  legion.  The  spirits,  good  and  bad,  followed 
him  everywhere.  It  is  of  those  thrilling  scenes  that 
his  widow  now  loves  to  speak,  as  a  testimony  of  the 
power  of  God,  and  of  the  signs  following  the  be- 
liever. No  sister  from  the  old  country  could  be 
chosen  as  a  better  witness  of  the  spiritual  potency 
of  Mormonism  than  Sister  Sarah  Smith  Wheeler. 


Sister  I.  S.  Winnerholm,  from  Denmark,  was 
brought  into  the  church,  in  Copenhagen,  through  a 
series  of  spiritual  experiences  of  unusual  power  and 
interest ;  and,  throughout  her  entire  life  since,  she 
has  been  remarkably  gifted  with  the  power  of  heal- 
ing, the  interpretation  of  tongues,  etc.  Concerning 
the  gift  of  tongues,  she  testifies  that  at  a  ward 


THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM.  473 

meeting  in  Salt  Lake  City  she  heard  a  lady  mani- 
fest the  gift  by  speaking  in  the  dialect  of  Lapland, 
which  she  was  fully  competent  to  translate,  being 
conversant  with  that  dialect,  and  which  the  lady  in 
question  positively  knew  nothing  about,  as  she  had 
never  seen  a  person  from  that  country.  Sister 
Winnerholm  has  been  a  resident  of  Salt  Lake  City 
since  1862,  and  a  member  of  the  church  since  1853. 


As  a  representative  from  Scotland,  Sister  Eliza- 
beth Duncanson,  who  is  one  of  "Zion's  nurses,"  may 
be  mentioned.  A  remarkable  incident  of  her  life  is 
.the  fact  that  at  about  the  identical  moment  of  the 
martyrdom  of  Joseph  and  Hyrum  Smith,  she,  in 
her  home  in  Scotland,  saw  the  entire  tragedy'  in  a 
dream.  She  told  the  drea^m  to  her  husband  at  the 
time  (both  of  them  were  members  of  the  church), 
and  they  were  much  dispirited  with  their  forebod- 
ings concerning  it.  In  about  six  weeks,  by  due 
course  of  mail,  the  tidings  reached  them.  Herself 
and  husband  reached  Utah  in  1855,  and  in  that 
same  year  she  was  ordained,  by  President  Young, 
to  the  office  of  nurse,  which  she  has  since  most  ac- 
ceptably and  skillfully  filled. 


Another  sister  from  Scotland,  Sister  Mary  Mei- 
klejohn,  since  1856  a  resident  of  Tooele  City,  and 
also  one  of  "Zion's  nurses,"  shall  here  be  mentioned. 
While  residing  in  Bonhill,  Scotland,  herself  and  hus- 


474  THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM. 

band  were  baptized  into  the  Mormon  Church  by 
Elder  Robert  Hamilton.  Her  husband  at  once  be- 
came active  in  the  work  of  spreading  the  gospel, 
and  was  soon  the  recipient  of  the  benefits  of  the 
gift  of  healing,  to  a  remarkable  degree.  By  an  ac- 
cident one  of  his  feet  was  crushed  and  terribly 
lacerated  by  being  caught  in  a  steam  engine.  The 
physicians  determined  that  the  foot  must  be  ampu- 
tated in  order  to  save  his  life  ;  but  the  elders  thought 
differently,  and  after  administering  to  him,  they 
called  a  fast,  for  his  benefit,  among  all  the  branches 
in  the  neighborhood,  and  the  presiding  elder  pro- 
phesied that  he  should  so  completely  recover  the 
use  of  his  foot  as  to  dance  on  it  many  times  in  Zion. 
This  has  been  literally  fulfilled.  Mrs.  Meiklejoh'n  is 
the  very  acceptable  President  of  the  Tooele  Relief 
Society,  which  position  she  has  held  since  its  organ- 
ization in  1870. 


It  is  also  noteworthy  that  among  the  sisters  is 
Mrs.  Josephine  Ursenbach,  once  a  Russian  Coun- 
tess. With  the  instincts  of  her  rank,  she  took  it 
upon  her  to  officiate  for  many  of  her  aristocratic 
compeers  of  Europe,  in  the  beautiful  ordinance  of 
baptism  for  the  dead.  The  Empress  Josephine  and 
Napoleon's  wife,  Louisa  of  Austria,  were  among  the 
number.  Also  Elizabeth  of  England 


The  reader  will  have  noticed  in  the  sketches  of 
the  sisters,   both    American   and    foreign,  frequent 


THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM.  475 

mention  of  the  "  gift  of  tongues."  This  seems  to 
have  been  markedly  the  woman's  gift.  One  of  the 
first  who  manifested  it  approvedly  was  Mother 
Whitney.  She  was  commanded  by  the  prophet 
Joseph  to  rise  and  sing  in  the  gift  of  tongues  in  the 
early  days  of  Kirtland.  She  did  so,  and  Joseph 
pronounced  it  the  "Adamic  tongue,"  or  the  lan- 
guage spoken  by  Adam.  Parley  P.  Pratt  afterwards 
gave  a  written  interpretation  of  it.  It  was  a  story,' 
in  verse,  of  Adam  blessing  his  family  in  "  Adam- 
Ondi-Ahman  " — the  Garden  of  Eden  in  America. 

As  an  instance  in  which  the  gift  of  tongues 
proved  of  decidedly  practical  value,  we  transcribe 
the  following  incident,  which  occurred  near  Council 
Bluffs,  in  the  history  of  a  girl  of  seventeen  by  the 
name  of  Jane  Grover  (afterwards  Mrs.  Stewart), 
from  her  journal  : 

"  One  morning  we  thought  we  would  go  and 
"  gather  gooseberries.  Father  Tanner  (as  we  famil- 
"  iarly  called  the  good,  patriarchal  Elder  Nathan 
"  Tanner),  harnessed  a  span  of  horses  to  a  light 
"  wagon,  and,  with  two  sisters  by  the  name  of  Lyman, 
"  his  little  granddaughter,  and  me,  started  out. 
"  When  we  reached  the  woods  we  told  the  old  gen- 
"  tleman  to  go  to  a  house  in  sight  and  rest  himself 
."  while  we  picked  the  berries. 

"  It  was  not  long  before  the  little  girl  and  I 
"  strayed  some  distance  from  the  rest,  when  sud- 
"  denly  we  heard  shouts.  The  little  girl  thought  it 
"  was  her  grandfather,  and  was  about  to  answer,  but 
"  I  restrained  her,  thinking  it  might  be  Indians. 
"  We  walked  forward  until  within  sight  of  Father 
"  Tanner,  when  we  saw  he  was  running  his  team 


476  THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM. 

"  around.  We  thought  nothing  strange  at  first,  but 
"  as  we  approached  we  saw  Indians  gathering  around 
"  the  wagon,  whooping  and  yelling  as  others  came 
"  and  joined  them.  We  got  into  the  wagon  to  start 
"  when  four  of  the  Indians  took  hold  of  the  wagon- 
"  wheels  to  stop  the  wagon,  and  two  others  held  the 
"  horses  by  the  bits,  and  another  came  to  take  me 
"  out  of  the  wagon.  I  then  began  to  be  afraid  as 
"  well  as  vexed,  and  asked  Father  Tanner  to  let  me 
"  get  out  of  the  wagon  and  run  for  assistance.  He 
"  said,  '  No,  poor  child  ;  it  is  too  late  !'  I  told  him 
"they  should  not  take  me  alive.  His  face  was  as 
"  white  as  a  sheet.  The  Indians  had  commenced  to 
"  strip  him — had  taken  his  watch  and  handker- 
"  chief — and  while  stripping  him,  were  trying  to  pull 
"  me  out  of  the  wagon.  I  began  silently  to  appeal 
"  to  my  Heavenly  Father.  While  praying  and  strug- 
"  gling,  the  spirit  of  the  Almighty  fell  upon  me  and 
"  I  arose  with  great  power;  and  no  tongue  can  tell 
"  my  feelings.  I  was  happy  as  I  could  be.  A  few 
"  moments  before  I  saw  worse  than  death  staring  me 
"  in  the  face,  and  now  my  hand  was  raised  by  the 
"  power  of  God,  and  I  talked  to  those  Indians  in 
"  their  own  language.  They  let  go  the  horses  and 
"  wagon,  and  all  stood  in  front  of  me  while  I  talked 
"  to  them  by  the  power  of  God.  They  bowed  their 
"  heads  and  answered  '  Yes/  in  a  way  that  made  me 
"  know  what  they  meant.  The  little  girl  and  Father 
"  Tanner  looked  on  in  speechless  amazement.  I 
"  realized  our  situation  ;  their  calculation  was  to  kill 
"  Father  Tanner,  burn  the  wagon,  and  take  us  women 
"  prisoners.  This  was  plainly  shown  me.  When  I 
"  stopped  talking  they  shook  hands  with  all  three  of 


THE    WOMEN    OF    MoKMONDOM.  477 

"  us,  and  returned  all  they  had  taken  from  Father 
"  Tanner,  who  gave  them  back  the  handkerchief,  and 
"  I  gave  them  berries  and  crackers.  By  this  time 
"  the  other  two  women  came  up,  and  we  hastened 
"  home. 

"  The  Lord  gave  me  a  portion  of  the  interpreta- 
"  tion  of  what  I  had  said,  which  was  as  follows  : 

"  'I  suppose  you  Indian  warriors  think  you  are 
"  going  to  kill  us  ?  Don't  you  know  the  Great 
"  Spirit  is  watching  you  and  knows  everything  in 
"your  heart?  We  have  come  out  here  to  gather 
"  some  of  our  father's  fruit.  We  have  not  come  to 
"  injure  you  ;  and  if  you  harm  us,  or  injure  one  hair 
"  of  our  heads,  the  Great  Spirit  shall  smite  you  to 
"  the  earth,  and  you  shall  not  have  power  to  breathe 
"  another  breath.  We  have  been  driven  from  our 
"  homes,  and  so  have  you  ;  we  have  come  out  here 
"  to  do  you  good,  and  not  to  injure  you.  We  are 
"  the  Lord's  people  and  so  are  you ;  but  you  must 
"  cease  your  murders  and  wickedness ;  the  Lord  is 
"  displeased  with  it  and  will  not  prosper  you  if  you 
"  continue  in  it.  You  think  you  own  all  this  land, 
"  this  timber,  this  water,  all  the  horses  :  Why,  you 
"  do  not  own  one  thing  on  earth,  not  even  the  air 
"  you  breathe — it  all  belongs  to  the  Great  Spirit/  " 


Of  similar  import,  and  fraught  with  similar  inci- 
dents as  the  preceding,  are  the  testimonies  of  Mercy 
R.  Thompson,  sister  of  Mary  Fielding;  Mrs.  Janet 
Young,  of  South  Cottonwood;  Elizabeth  S.  Higgs, 
of  Salt  Lake  City ;  Ann  Gillott  Morgan,  of  Milk 


478  THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM. 

Creek,  originally  from  England  ;  Zina  Pugh  Bishop, 
for  twenty-eight  years  a  member  of  the  church  ; 
Anna  Wilson,  of  Taylorsville,  originally  from  Swe- 
den ;  Mary  C.  Smith,  a  sister  from  Wales  ;  Elizabeth 
Lane  Hyde,  a  sister  from  South  Wales;  Sister  M. 
Bingham,  an  aged  saint  from  England ;  Sister  Mary 
T.  Bennson,  of  Taylorsville,  for  thirty-two  years  a 
member  of  the  church;  Mrs.  Isabella  Pratt  Walton, 
of  Mill  Creek  ;  Mrs.  Margaret  Pratt,  from  Scotland  ; 
and  many  more,  concerning  whom  a  faithful  record 
might  profitably  be  made. 


CHAPTER  XLIX. 

THE    MESSAGE    TO    JERUSALEM THE    ANCIENT    TONES 

OF     MORMONISM THE     MORMON    HIGH      PRIESTESS 

IN  THE  HOLY  LAND ON  THE  MOUNT  OF  OLIVES 

OFFICIATING    FOR     THE    ROYAL     HOUSE    OF    JUDAH. 

"  Comfort  ye,  comfort  ye  my  people,  saith  your 
God.  Speak  ye  comfortably  to  Jerusalem,  and  cry 
unto  her,  that  her  warfare  is  accomplished,  that  her 
iniquity  is  pardoned  ;  for  she  hath  received  double 
for  all  her  sins.  *  *  *  O  Zion,  that  bringest 
glad  tidings,  get  thee  up  into  the  high  mountain ;  O 
Jerusalem  that  bringest  good  tidings,  lift  up  thy 
voice  with  strength  ;  lift  it  up,  be  not  afraid;  say 
unto  the  cities  of  Judah,  behold  your  God  !" 

Themes  to  this  day  not  understood  by  the  Gen- 
tiles !  Incomprehensible  to  the  divines  of  Chris- 
tendom ! 

The  everlasting  perpetuation  of  a  chosen  race — a 
diviner  monument  in  its  dispersion  and  preserva- 
tion than  in  its  national  antiquity.  Its  restoration 
to  more  than  its  ancient  empire,  and  the  rebuilding 
of  Jerusalem,  with  Jehovah  exalted  in  his  chosen 
people  as  the  Lord  God  Omnipotent,  is  the  vast 
subject  of  the  prophetic  Hebrews. 

It  was  such  a  theme  that  inspired  the  genius  of 
grand  Isaiah,  swelling  into  the  exultation  of  millen- 


480  THE  WOMEN  OF  MUKMUMDOM. 

nial  jubilee  for  Israel,  in  his  great  declamatory  of 
"Comfort  ye,  comfort  ye  my  people,  saith  your 
God!" 

Gentile  Christendom  has  never  been  en  rapport 
with  the  Abrahamic  subject.  It  has  not  incarnated 
its  genius.  It  is  destitute  of  the  very  sense  to  ap- 
preciate the  theme  of  Jerusalem  rebuilt. 

Israelitish  Mormondom  ^oes  understand  that 
subject.  It  has  fully  incarnated  its  genius.  It  has, 
not  only  the  prophetic  sense  to  appreciate  the  theme 
of  Old  Jerusalem  rebuilt,  but  also  the  rising  of  the 
New  Jerusalem  of  the  last  days,  whose  interpret- 
ed* symbol  shall  be,  "  The  Lord  God  Omnipotent 
reigneth !" 

The  divines  of  a  Romish  Christianity — Romish, 
notwithstanding  its  sectarian  protestantism — have 
worn  threadbare  the  New  Testament ;  but  the  epic 
soul  of  the  old  Hebrew  Bible  has  never  possessed 
Gentile  Christendom.  To  it,  the  prophesies  and 
sublimities  of  Isaiah,  and  the  everlasting  vastness 
of  the  Abrahamic  covenant  and  promise,  are  all,  at 
best,  but  as  glorious  echoes  from  the  vaults  of  dead 
and  long  buried  ages. 

Who  has  blown  the  trump  of  this  Hebraic  resur- 
rection ?  One  only — the  prophet  of  Mormondom  ! 

The  Mormons  are,  as  it  were,  clothing  that  soul 
with  flesh — giving  the  themes  of  that  everlasting 
epic  forms  and  types.  Their  Israelitish  action  has 
made  the  very  age  palpitate.  They  render  the 
"  Comfort  ye,  comfort  ye  my  people,  saith  your 
God  !"  as  literally  as  did  they  the  command  of  their 
prophet  to  preach  the  gospel  to  the  British  Isles, 
and  gather  the  saints  from  that  land. 


THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM.  481 

The  thread  of  history  leads  us  directly  to  a  sig- 
nificant episode  in  the  life  of  Eliza  R.  Snow,  a  pro- 
phetess and  high  priestess  of  Hebraic  Mormondom, 
in  which  the  "  Comfort  ye  my  people  "  became  em- 
bodied in  an  actual  mission  to  Jerusalem. 

Very  familiar  to  the  Mormons  is  the  fact  that,  at 
the  period  when  Joseph  sent  the  Twelve  to  foreign 
lands,  two  of  their  number,  Orson  Hyde  and  John 
E.  Page,  were  appointed  on  mission  to  Jerusalem. 
The  Apostle  Page  failed  to  fulfill  his  call,  and  ulti- 
mately apostatized ;  but  Orson  Hyde  honored  the 
voice  that  oracled  the  restoration  of  Israel,  and  the 
rebuilding  of  Jerusalem.  He  did  not  preach  to 
Judah  in  the  ordinary  way,  but  on  the  Mount  of 
Olives  he  reconsecrated  the  land,  and  uttered  to 
the  listening  heavens  a  command  for  the  Jews  to 
gather  and  rebuild  the  waste  places.  It  was  as  the 
refrain  of  the  invisible  fathers,  concerning  Israel's 
redemption,  rising  from  the  hearts  of  their  Mormon 
children.  And  that  mission  of  Orson  Hyde  was 
but  a  prophesy,  to  the  sons  of  Judah,  of  coming 
events.  Other  missions  were  ordained,  as  it  were, 
to  psychologize  the  age  into  listening  to  the  voice 
of  Judah's  comforter. 

A  few  years  since,  the  second  mission  to  Jerusa- 
lem was  accomplished.  On  the  Mount  of  Olives 
this  time  stood  also  a  woman — to  take  part  in  the 
second  consecration  !  A  woman's  inspired  voice  to 
swell  the  divine  command  for  Israel  to  gather  and 
become  again  the  favored  nation — *he  crown  of 
empires. 

The  journal  of  Sister  Eliza  thus  opens  this  epi- 
sode of  her  life : 


482  THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM. 

"  On  the  26th  of  October,  1872,  I  started  on  the 
"  mission  to  Palestine.  When  I  realized  that  I  was 
"indeed  going  to  Jerusalem,  in  fulfillment  of  a  pre- 
diction of  the  prophet  Joseph  that  I  should  visit 
"  that  antique  city,  uttered  nearly  thirty  years  before, 
"  and  which  had  not  only  fled  my  anticipations,  but 
"  had,  for  years,  gone  from  memory,  I  was  filled  with 
"  astonishment." 

The  Jerusalem  missionaries  were  President  Geo. 
A.  Smith,  Lorenzo  Snow,  his  sister  Eliza  R.  Snow, 
and  Paul  A.  Schettler,  their  secretary,  accompanied 
by  several  tourists.  The  following  commission, 
given  to  President  Smith,  stamps  the  apostolic 
character  of  this  peculiar  mission,  and  connects  it 
with  the  former  one,  sent  by  the  prophet  Joseph,  in 
the  person  of  Orson  Hyde,  thirty-two  years  before : 

"  SALT  LAKE  CITY,  U.  T., 

"  October  15,  1872. 
"  PRESIDENT  G.  A.  SMITH  : 

"Dear  Brother :  As  you  are  about  to  start  on  an 
extensive  tour  through  Europe  and  Asia  Minor, 
where  you  will  doubtless  be  brought  in  contact  with 
men  of  position  and  influence  in  society,  we  desire 
that  you  closely  observe  what  openings  now  exist, 
or  where  they  may  be  effected,  for  the  introduction 
of  the  gospel  into  the  various  countries  you  shall 
visit. 

"  When  you  go  to  the  land  of  Palestine,  we  wish 
you  to  dedicate  and  consecrate  that  land  to  the 
Lord,  that  it  may  be  blessed  with  fruitfulness  pre- 
paratory to  the  return  of  the  Jews  in  fulfillment  of 
prophesy  and  the  accomplishment  of  the  purposes 
of  our  Heavenly  Father. 

"  We  pray  that  you  may  be  preserved  to  travel  in 
peace  and  safety;  that  you  may  be  abundantly 


THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM.  483 

blessed  with  words  of  wisdom  and  free  utterance  in 
all  your  conversations  pertaining  to  the  holy  gospel, 
dispelling  prejudice  and  sowing  seeds  of  righteous- 
ness among  the  people. 

"  BRIGHAM  YOUNG, 
"  DANIEL  H.  WELLS." 

Joseph  had  also  predicted  that,  ere  his  mortal 
career  closed,  "  George  A."  should  see  the  Holy 
Land.  In  the  fulfillment  of  this  he  may  therefore 
be  considered  as  the  proxy  of  his  great  cousin ; 
while  Sister  Eliza,  who,  it  will  be  remembered,  was 
declared  by  the  prophet  to  be  of  the  royal  seed  of 
Judah,  may  be  considered  as  a  high  priestess  offi- 
ciating for  her  sacred  race. 

Away  to  the  East — the  cradle  of  empires — to 
bless  the  land  where  Judah  shall  become  again  a 
nation,  clothed  with  more  than  the  splendor  of  the 
days  of  Solomon. 

Uniting  at  New  York,  the  company,  on  the  6th 
of  November,  sailed  on  board  the  steamer  Minne- 
sota. Arriving  in  London,  they  visited  some  of  the 
historic  places  of  that  great  city,  and  then  embarked 
for  Holland.  From  place  to  place  on  the  continent 
they  went,  visiting  the  famous  cities,  stopping  a  day 
to  view  the  battle-field  of  Waterloo,  then  resting  a 
day  or  two  at  Paris.  At  Versailles  they  were  re- 
ceived with  honor  by  President  Theirs,  in  their 
peculiar  character  as  missionaries  to  Jerusalem. 
Thence  back  to  Paris ;  from  Paris  to  Marseilles  ; 
then  to  Nice,  where  they  ate  Christmas  dinner; 
thence  to  San  Reno,  Italy;  to  Genoa,  Turin,  Milan, 
Venice,  Florence,  Rome.  At  Rome  Sister  Eliza 
passed  her  seventieth  birthday,  visiting  the  famous 


484  THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM. 

places  of  that  classic  city.  On  the  6th  of  February, 
1873,  the  apostolic  tourists  reached  Alexandria, 
Egypt;  and  at  length  they  approached  Jerusalem — 
the  monument  of  the  past,  the  prophesy  of  the  fu- 
ture!  They  encamped  in  the  "Valley  of  Hinnom." 
Here  Sister  Eliza  writes : 

"  Sunday  morning,  March  2d,  President  Smith 
made  arrangements  with  out  dragoman,  and  had  a 
tent,  table,  seats,  and  carpet  taken  up  on  the  Mount 
of  Olives,  to  which  all  the  brethren  of  the  company 
and  myself  repaired  on  horseback.  After  dismount- 
ing on  the  summit,  and  committing  our  animals  to 
1  the  care  of  servants,  we  visited  the  Church  of  As- 
cension, a  small  cathedral,  said  to  stand  on  the  spot 
from  which  Jesus  ascended.  By  this  time  the  tent 
was  prepared,  which  we  entered,  and  after  an  open- 
ing prayer  by  Brother  Carrington,  we  united  in  the 
order  of  the  holy  priesthood,  President  Smith  lead- 
ing in  humble,  fervent  supplications,  dedicating  the 
land  of  Palestine  for  the  gathering  of  the  Jews  and 
the  rebuilding  of  Jerusalem,  and  returned  heartfelt 
'thanks  and  gratitude  to  God  for  the  fullness  of  the 
gospel  and  the  blessings  bestowed  on  the  Latter- 
day  Saints.  Other  brethren  led  in  turn,  and  we  had 
a  very  interesting  season ;  to  me  it  seemed  the 
crowning  point  of  the  whole  tour,  realizing  as  I  did 
that  we  were  worshipping  on  the  summit  of  the  sa- 
cred mount,  once  the  frequent  resort  of  the  Prince 
of  Life." 

This  the  literal  record  ;  but  what  the  symbolical  ? 

A  prophesy  of  Israel's  restoration  !  A  sign  of 
the  renewal  of  Jehovah's  covenant  to  the  ancient 
people!  The  "comfort  ye"  to  Jerusalem!  Zion, 
from  the  West,  come  to  the  Zion  of  the  East,  to 
ordain  her  with  a  present  destiny  !  A  New  Jerusa- 


THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM.  485 

lem  crying  to  the  Old  Jerusalem,  '  Lift  up  thy  voice 
"  with  strength  ;  Lift  it  up,  be  not  afraid  ;  say  unto 
41  the  cities  of  Judah,  behold  your  God  !" 

Woman  on  the  Mount  of  Olives,  in  her  character 
of  prophetess  and  high  priestess  of  the  temple! 
A  daughter  of  David  officiating  for  her  Father's 
house ! 

Surely  the  subject  is  unique,  view  this  extraordi- 
nary scene  as  we  may — either  as  a  romantic  episode 
of  Mormonism,  or  as  a  real  and  beautiful  prelude  to 
Jerusalem  redeemed. 

At  the  Sea  of  Gallilee  the  Hebraic  muse  of  Sister 
Eliza  thus  expressed  the  rapture  awakened  by  the 
scenes  of  the  sacred  land : 


"  I  have  stood  on  the  shore  of  the  beautiful 
The  renowned  and  immortalized  Gallilee — 
When  'twas  wrapped  in  repose,  at  eventide, 
Like  a  royal  queen  in  her  conscious  pride. 

"  No  sound  was  astir — not  a  murmuring  wave- 
Not  a  motion  was  seen,  but  the  tremulous  lave— 
A  gentle  heave  of  the  water's  crest — 
As  the  infant  breathes  on  a  mother's  breast. 

"  I  thought  of  the  past  and  present;  it  seemed 
That  the  silent  sea  with  instruction  teemed; 
For  often,  indeed,  the  heart  can  hear 
What  never,  in  sound,  has  approached  the  ear. 

"  There's  a  depth  in  the  soul  that's  beyond  the  reach 
Of  all  earthly  sound — of  all  human  speech ; 
A  fiber,  too  pure  and  sacred,  to  chime 
With  the  cold,  dull  music  of  earth  and  time." 


On  their  way  home   our  tourists  visited  Athens, 
Everywhere,  going  and  returning,  they  were  hon- 


486  THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM. 

ored.  Even  princes  and  prime  ministers  took  a 
peculiar  interest  in  this  extraordinary  embassy  of 
Mormon  Israel.  Evidently  all  were  struck  by  its 
unique  character. 

Recrossing  the  Atlantic,  they  returned  to  their 
mountain  home ;  thus  accomplishing  one  of  the  most 
singular  and  romantic  religious  missions  on  record. 


CHAPTER  L. 

WOMAN'S  POSITION  IN  THE  MORMON  CHURCH — GRAND 
FEMALE  ORGANIZATION  OF  MORMONDOM THE  RE- 
LIEF SOCIETY ITS  INCEPTION  AT  NAUVOO ITS 

PRESENT  STATUS,  AIMS,  AND  METHODS FIRST  SO- 
CIETY  BUILDING A   WOMAN    LAYS   THE   CORNER 

STONE DISTINGUISHED  WOMEN  OF  THE  VARIOUS 

SOCIETIES. 

The  Mormon  women,  as  well  as  men,  hold  the 
priesthood.  To  all  that  man  attains,  in  celestial  ex- 
altation and  glory,  woman  attains.  She  is  his  part- 
ner in  estate  and  office. 

John  the  Revelator  thus  tells  the  story  of  the 
Church  of  the  First  Born,  in  the  New  Jerusalem, 
which  shall  come  down  out  of  heaven : 

"  And  they  sang  a  new  song,  saying,  Thou  art 
worthy  to  take  the  book  and  to  open  the  seals 
thereof:  for  thou  wast  slain,  and  hast  redeemed  us 
unto  God,  by  thy  blood,  out  of  every  kindred  and 
tongue  and  nation  : 

"  And  hast  made  us  unto  our  God  kings  and 
priests :  and  we  shall  reign  on  the  earth." 

Joseph  the  Revelator  has  given  a  grand  supple- 
ment to  this.  He  also  saw  that  vast  assembly  of 
the  New  Jerusalem,  and  heard  that  song.  There 
was  the  blessed  woman-half  of  that  redeemed 


488  THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM. 

throng.     The  sisters  sang  unto  the   honor  of  the 
Lamb : 

"  And  thou  hast  made  us  unto  our  God  queens 
and  priestesses  :  and  we  shall  reign  on  the  earth  !" 

"  But  this  is  lowering  the  theme,"  says  the  Gen- 
tile Christian  ;  "the  theme  descends  from  man — the 
paragon  of  excellence — to  woman.  Enough  that 
she  should  be  implied — her  identity  and  glory  ab- 
sorbed in  man's  august  splendor !  Enough,  that, 
for  man,  woman  was  created. 

Not  so  the  grand  economy  of  Mormonism.  In 
the  Mormon  temple,  woman  is  not  merely  implied, 
but  well  defined  and  named.  There  the  theme  of 
the  song  of  the  New  Jerusalem  is  faithfully  rendered 
in  her  personality.  If  man  is  anointed  priest  unto 
God,  woman  is  anointed  priestess ;  if  symboled  in 
his  heavenly  estate  as  king,  she  is  also  symboled  as 
queen. 

Gentile  publishers,  making  a  sensational  conve- 
nience of  apostate  sisters,  have  turned  this  to  the 
popular  amusement ;  but  to  the  faithful  Mormon 
woman  it  is  a  very  sacred  and  exalted  subject. 

But  not  presuming  to  more  than  cross  the  thresh- 
old of  the  temple,  return  we  now  to  the  Mormon 
woman  in  her  social  sphere  and  dignity.  The  grand 
organization  of  fifty  thousand  Mormon  women,  un- 
der the  name  of  "  Relief  Societies,"  will  sufficiently 
illustrate  woman  in  the  Mormon  economy. 

The  Female  Relief  Society  was  organized  by  the 
prophet  Joseph,  at  Nauvoo.  Here  is  a  minute  from 
his  own  history  : 

"  Thursday,  March  24. — I  attended  by  request 
the  Female  Relief  Society,  whose  object  is,  the  relief 


THE    WOMEN    OF  .MORMONDOM.  489 

of  the  poor,  the  destitute,  the  widow,  and  the  orphan, 
and  for  the  exercise  of  all  benevolent  purposes. 
Its  organization  was  completed  this  day.  Mrs. 
Emma  Smith  takes  the  presidential  chair;  Mrs. 
Elizabeth  Ann  Whitney  and  Mrs.  Sarah  M.  Cleve- 
land are  her  councilors ;  Miss  Elvira  Cole  is  treas- 
uress,  and  our  well-known  and  talented  poetess,  Miss 
Eliza  R.  Snow,  secretary.  *  *  *  *  Our  ladies 
have  always  been  signalized  for  their  acts  of  benev- 
olence and  kindness  ;  but  the  cruel  usage  that  they 
have  received  from  the  barbarians  of  Missouri,  has 
hitherto  prevented  their  extending  the  hand  of 
charity  in  a  conspicuous  manner." 

On  another  occasion  he  says  : 

"  I  met  the  members  of  the  Female  Relief  Soci- 
ety, and  after  presiding  at  the  admission  of  many  new 
members,  gave  a  lecture  on  the  priesthood,  showing 
how  the  sisters  would  come  in  possession  of  the 
privileges,  blessings,  and  gifts  of  the  priesthood,  and 
that  the  signs  should  follow  them,  such  as  healing 
the  sick,  casting  out  devils,  etc.,  and  that  they  might 
attain  unto  these  blessings  by  a  virtuous  life,  and 
conversation,  and  diligence  in  keeping  all  the  com- 
mandments." 

But  it  is  in  Utah  that  we  see  the  growth  of  this 
society  to  a  vast  woman's  organization:  an  organi- 
zation which  will  greatly  influence  the  destiny  of 
Utah,  religiously,  socially  and  politically,  for  the 
next  century,  and,  presumably,  for  all  time. 

From  1846,  the  time  of  the  exodus  from  Nauvoo, 
the  Relief  Society  was  inoperative  until  1855,  when 
it  was  re-organized  in  Salt  Lake  City. 

It  is  a  self-governing  body,  without  a  written  con- 
stitution ;  but  is  thoroughly  organized,  and  parlia- 
mentary in  its  proceedings.  Each  branch  adopts 


490  THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM 

measures,  makes  arrangements,  appointments,  etc., 
independently  of  others.  Because  of  these  organi- 
zations, Utah  has  no  "  poor-houses."  Under  the 
kind  and  sisterly  policy  of  this  society  the  worthy 
poor  feel  much  less  humiliated,  and  are  better  sup- 
plied, than  by  any  almshouse  system  extant.  By  an 
admirable  arrangement,  under  the  form  of  visiting 
committees,  with  well-defined  duties,  the  deserving 
subjects  of  charity  are  seldom,  if  ever,  neglected  or 
overlooked. 

Since  its  revival  in  Salt  Lake  City,  the  society 
has  extended,  in  branches,  from  ward  to  ward  of  the 
cities,  and  from  settlement  to  settlement,  in  the 
country,  until  it  numbers  considerably  over  two 
hundred  branches;  and, as  new  settlements  are  con- 
stantly being  formed,  the  number  of  branches  is 
constantly  increasing. 

The  funds  of  the  society  are  mostly  donations ; 
but  many  branches  have  started  various  industries, 
from  which  they  realize  moderate  incomes.  Besides 
stated  business  meetings  each  branch  has  set  days 
on  which  to  work  for  the  benefit  of  the  poor.  When 
the  society  commenced  its  labors  in  Salt  Lake  City, 
these  industrial  meetings  would  have  reminded  the 
observer  of  the  Israelites  in  Egypt,  making  "bricks 
without  straw" — the  donations  consisting  of  mate- 
rials for  patch-work  quilts,  rag-carpets,  uncarded 
wool  for  socks  and  stockings,  etc.  (In  one  well- 
authenticated  instance  the  hair  from  slaughtered 
beeves  was  gathered,  carded — by  hand  of  course, 
as  there  were  no  carding  machines  in  the  city  at 
that  time — spun,  and  knit  into  socks  and  mittens.) 
These  industrial  meetings,  to  this  day,  are  very  in- 


THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM.  491 

teresting,  from  the  varieties  of  work  thus  brought 
into  close  fellowship. 

As  fast  as  may  be,  the  various  branches  are  build- 
ing for  themselves  places  of  meeting,  workshops, 
etc.  The  first  of  these  buildings  was  erected  by 
the  ladies  of  the  Fifteenth  Ward  of  Salt  Lake  City. 
They  commenced  their  labors  as  above,  their  first 
capital  stock  being  donations  of  pieces  for  patch- 
work quilts,  carpet-rags,  etc.  By  energy  and  perse- 
verance, they  have  sustained  their  poor,  and,  in  a 
few  years,  purchased  land  and  built  on  it  a  commo- 
dious house. 

It  should  be  recorded,  as  unique  in  history,  that 
the  laying  of  the  corner-stone  of  this  building  was 
performed  by  the  ladies.  This  ceremony,  being  un- 
ostentatiously performed,  was  followed  by  appro- 
priate speechmaking  on  the  part  of  the  presiding 
officer  of  the  society,  Mrs.  S.  M.  Kimball,  Eliza 
R.  Snow,  and  others;  each  in  turn  mounting  the 
corner-stone  for  a  rostrum,  and  each  winning  de- 
served applause  from  the  assembled  thousands. 

No  greater  tribute  could  be  paid  to  the  ladies  of 
this  organization,  than  the  simple  statement  of  the 
fact  that,  since  its  re-establishment,  in  1855,  the  Re- 
lief Society  has  gathered  and  disbursed  over  one 
hundred  thousand  dollars ! 


Mrs.  Sarah  M.  Kimball,  who,  as  President  of  the 
Fifteenth  Ward  Society,  sustained  the  honors  of  the 
above  occasion,  belonged  to  the  original  Relief  So- 
ciety in  Nauvoo.  As  elsewhere  recorded,  she  also 


THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM. 

presided  at  the  grand  mass-meeting  of  the  sisters, 
in  Salt  Lake  City,  in  1870,  and  has  repeatedly  ap- 
peared as  a  speaker  of  talent,  and  as  a  leader 
among  the  women  of  Utah.  Her  favorite  theme  is 
female  suffrage ;  but  she  abounds  with  other  pro- 
gressive ideas,  and  is  a  lady  of  decided  character. 
Her  history  as  a  Mormon  dates  from  the  earliest 
rise  of  the  church. 


Mrs.  Mary  I.  Home,  frequently  mentioned  else- 
where, is  the  President  of  the  "  General  Retrench- 
ment Society  "  of  Salt  Lake  City.  (It  should  be 
explained  that  these  are  auxiliary  to  the  relief  so- 
cieties, and  are  more  especially  designed  for  the 
organization  of  the  young  ladies  of  Utah.)  She  is 
also  President  of  the  Fourteenth  Ward  Relief  So- 
ciety, where  frequently  the  sisters  hold  something 
like  general  conventions  of  the  societies  of  the  city. 
She  may  be  said  to  rank,  as  an  organizer,  next  to 
President  Eliza  R.  Snow. 


Among  those  who  have  earned  honorable  men- 
tion, as  presidents  of  relief  societies,  and  leading 
officers  in  the  more  important  movements  of  the 
sisters,  may  be  mentioned  Sisters  Rachel  Grant, 
Agnes  Taylor  Swartz,  Maria  Wilcox,  Minerva,  one 
of  the  wives  of  Erastus  Snow,  of  Southern  Utah  ; 
Agatha  Pratt,  Julia  Pack,  Anna  Ivins,  Sarah  Church, 
Sister  Barney,  once  a  missionary  to  the  Sandwich 
Islands,  and  now  an  active  woman  at  home ;  Eliza- 


THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM.  493 

beth  Goddard,  Hannah  Pierce,  Rebecca  Jones,  Jane 
C.  Richardson,  Elmira  Taylor,  Leonora  Snow  Mor- 
ley,  sister  to  Lorenzo  and  Eliza  R.  Snow  :  she  pre- 
sided at  Brigham  City,  until  her  recent  death  ;  Mary 
Ferguson,  Sisters  Evans,  of  Lehi;  Sister  Ezra  Ben- 
son, Rebecca  Wareham,  Ruth  Tyler,  Sisters  Hunter, 
Hardy,  and  Burton,  wives  of  the  presiding  bishops; 
Sister  Chase,  Sister  Lever,  Sarah  Groo,  Sister  Lay- 
ton,  wife  of  Bishop  Layton  of  the  battalion  ;  Sister 
Reed,  Mary  Ann,  one  of  the  wives  of  Apostle  O. 
Hyde ;  Sarah  Peterson,  Ann  Bringhurst,  Ann  Bry- 
ant, Helena  Madson,  M.  J.  Atwood,  Sister  Wilde, 
Caroline  Callister,  Emma  Brown,  wife  of  the  man 
who  did  the  first  plowing  in  the  valley  ,  Nancy 'Wall, 
founder  of  Wallsburg;  Elizabeth  Stickney,  Marga- 
ret McCullough,  Amy  Bigler,  Elizabeth  Brown, 
Ellen  Whiton,  P.  S.  Hart,  Ann  Tate,  Anna  Brown, 
Martha  Simons,  Jane  Simons,  Margaret  P.  Young, 
M.  A.  Hubbard,  Agnes  Douglas,  Jane  Cahoon,  Mary 
McAllister,  Sister  Albertson,  Pres.  in  Bear  River 
City ;  Mary  Dewey,  M.  A.  Hardy,  Ann  Goldsbrough, 
Mrs.  Sarah  Williams,  and  Miss  Emily  Williams,  of 
Canton,  III;  Jane  Bailey,  Jane  Bradl-ey,  Elizabeth 
Boyes,  Jane  M.  Howell,  D.  E.  Dudley,  Mary  Ann 
Hazon,  Mahala  Higgins,  Jenet  Sharp,  Lulu  Sharp, 
Jane  Price,  Ann  Daniels,  Harriet  Burnham,  M.  C. 
Morrison,  Nellie  Hartley,  M.  A.  P.  Hyde,  Elizabeth 
Park,  Margaret  Randall,  Elizabeth  Wadoup,  M.  A. 
Pritchett,  M.  A.  P.  Marshall,  Sarah  S.  Taylor,  Mary 
Hutchins,  Emily  Shirtluff,  A.  E.  H.  Hanson,  M.  J. 
Crosby,  Cordelia  Carter,  Sarah  B.  Gibson,  Harriet 
Hardy,  Isabella  G.  Martin,  M.  A.  Boise,  Louisa 
Croshaw,  Orissa  A.  Aldred,  Julia  Lindsay,  C.  Liljen- 


494  THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM. 

quist,  Harriet  A.  Shaw,  Ann  Lowe,  Emma  Porter, 
Mary  E.  Hall,  Lydia  Remington,  Ellen  C.  Fuller, 
Harriet  E.  Laney,  Rebecca  Marcham,  A.  L.  Cox, 
Louisa  Taylor,  Agnes  S.  Armstrong,  M.  A.  Hub- 
bard,  Mary  A.  Hunter,  M.  A.  House,  Mary  Griffin, 
Jane  Godfrey,  Lydia  Rich,  E.  E.  C.  Francis,  Lydia 
Ann  Wells,  E.  M.  Merrill,  Mary  A.  Bingham,  Han- 
nah Child,  M.  A.  Hardy,  Fannie  Slaughter,  Mary 
Walker,  Ann  Hughes,  Marian  Petersom,  Mary 
Hanson,  Aurelia  S.  Rogers,  A.  M.  Frodsham,  Sophro- 
nia  Martin. 

Among  the  presidents  and  officers  of  the  Young 
Ladies'  Retrenchment  Societies,  should  be  men- 
tioned Mary  Freeze,  Melissa  Lee,  Mary  Pierce, 
Clara  Stenhouse  Young,  Sarah  Howard,  Mary 
Williams,  Elizabeth  Thomas,  Cornelia  Clayton, 
Sarah  Graham,  Susannah  E.  Facer,  Emily  Richards, 
Josephine  West,  Minnie  Snow,  May  Wells,  Emily 
Wells,  Annie  E.  Wells,  Maggie  J.  Reese,  Emily 
Maddison,  Hattie  Higginson,  Mattie  Paul, "Sarah 
Russell,  Alice  M.  Rich,  Mary  E.  Manghan,  Mar- 
garet M.  Spencer,  Sarah  Jane  Bullock,  Alice  M. 
Tucker,  M.  Josephine  Mulet,  M.  J.  Tanner,  Sarah 
Renshaw,  Mary  Ann  Ward,  Lizzie  Hawkins,  Mary 
Leaver,  Amy  Adams,  Rebecca  Williams,  Mary  S. 
Burnham,  Emmarett  Brown,  Mary  A.  P.  Marshall. 


Mrs.  Bathsheba  Smith,  whose  name  has  appeared 
elsewhere,  is  apostolic  in  the  movements  of  the 
sisterhood,  and  a  priestess  of  the  temple.  Mrs. 
Franklin  D.  Richards  is  the  most  prominent  organ- 


THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM.  495 

izer  outside  of  the  metropolis  of  Utah,  having  Og- 
den  and  Weber  counties  under  her  direction.  Sis- 
ter Smoot  leads  at  Provo.  The  silk  industries  are 
under  the  direction  of  President  Zina  D.  Young. 

o 

Those  sisters  who  have  been  most  energetic  in  pro- 
moting this  important  branch  of  industry,  which 
gives  promise  of  becoming  a  financial  success  in  Utah, 
have  already  earned  historic  laurels.  Of  these  are 
Sisters  Dunyan,  Robison,  Carter,  Clark,  Schettler, 
and  Rockwood.  Eliza  R.  Snow  is  president,  and 
Priscilla  M.  Staines  vice-president,  of  the  woman's 
co-operative  store,  an  enterprise  designed  to  foster 
home  manufactures.  Thus  are  the  women  of  Mor- 
mondom  putting  the  inchoate  State  of  Deseret  un- 
der the  most  complete  organization. 


CHAPTER  LI. 

THE    SISTERS     AND    THE     MARRIAGE     QUESTION THE 

WOMEN     OF     UTAH     ENFRANCHISED PASSAGE    OF 

THE    WOMAN     SUFFRAGE    BILL A    POLITICAL    CON- 
TEST  THE    FIRST    WOMAN    THAT    VOTED    IN  UTAH. 

The  women  of  Mormondom,  and  the  marriage 
question  !  Two  of  the  greatest  sensations  of  the 
age  united ! 

Here  we  meet  the  subject  of  woman,  in  two  casts — 
not  less  Gentile  than  Mormon. 

Marriage  is  the  great  question  of  the  age.  It  is 
the  woman's  special  subject.  Monogamic,  or  po- 
lygamic,  it  is  essentially  one  problem.  Either  phase 
is  good,  or  bad,  just  as  people  choose  to  consider 
it,  or  just  as  they  are  educated  to  view  it. 

The  Mormons  have  been,  for  a  quarter  of  a  cen- 
tury, openly  affirming,  upon  the  authority  of  a  new 
revelation  and  the  establishment  of  a  distinctive 
institution,  that  Gentile  monogamy  is  not  good. 
But  more  than  this  is  in  their  history,  their  religion, 
and  their  social  examples.  They  have  made  mar- 
riage one  of  their  greatest  problems.  And  they 
accept  the  patriarchal  order  of  marriage,  according 
to  the  Bible  examples,  and  the  revelation  of  their 
prophet,  as  a  proper  solution. 


THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM.  497 

To  Gentile  Christians,  monogamy  is  good,  and 
polygamy  barbarous.  But  it  is  the  old  story  of 
likes  and  dislikes,  in  which  people  so  widely 
differ. 

That  the  Mormons  have  been  strictly  logical,  and 
strictly  righteous,  in  reviving  the  institutions  of  the 
Hebrew  patriarchs,  in  their  character  of  a  modern 
Israel,  may  be  seen  at  a  glance,  by  any  just  mind. 
What  sense  in  their  claim  to  be  the  Israel  of  the 
last  days  had  they  not  followed  the  types  and  ex- 
amples of  Israel?  If  they  have  incarnated  the 
ancient  Israelitish  genius — and  in  that  fact  is  the 
whole  significance  of  Mormonism — then  has  the 
age  simply  seen  that  genius  naturally  manifested  in 
the  action  of  their  lives. 

A  monstrous  absurdity,  indeed,  for  Christendom 
to  hold  that  the  Bible  is  divine  and  infallible,  and 
at  the  same  time  to  hold  that  a  people  is  barbaric 
for  adoption  of  its  faith  and  examples !  Enough 
this,  surely,  to  justify  the  infidel  in  sweeping  it 
away  altogether.  The  Mormons  and  the  Bible 
stand  or  fall  together. 

In  view  of  this  truth,  it  was  a  cunning  move  of 
the  opposition  to  attempt  to  take  polygamy  out  of 
its  theologic  cast  and  give  it  a  purely  sociologic 
solution,  as  in  the  effort  of  1870,  when  it  was  pro- 
posed by  Congressman  Julian,  of  Indiana,  to  en- 
franchise the  women  of  Utah.  Brigham  Young  and 
the  legislative  body  of  Utah  promptly  accepted  the 
proposition,  and  a  bill  giving  suffrage  to  the  women 
of  Utah  was  passed  by  the  Territorial  Legislature, 
without  a  dissenting  vote. 

Here  is  a  copy  of  that  remarkable  instrument : 

32 


498  THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM. 

AN  ACT.  giving  woman  the  elective  franchise  in  the 

T*  -j.  S     TT*      J 

Territory  of   Utah. 

SEC.  i.  Be  it  enacted  by  the  Governor  and  the 
Legislative  Assembly  of  the  Territory  of  Utah, 
that  every  woman  of  the  age  of  twenty-one  years, 
who  has  resided  in  this  territory  six  months  next 
preceding  any  general  or  special  election,  born  or 
naturalized  in  the  United  States,  or  who  is  the  wife, 
or  widow,  or  the  daughter  of  a  naturalized  citizen 
of  the  United  States,  shall  be  entitled  to  vote  at 
any  election  in  this  territory. 

SEC.  2.  All  laws  or  parts  of  laws,  conflicting  with 
this  act,  are  hereby  repealed. 

Approved  Feb.  12,  1870. 

It  may  be  said  by  the  anti-Mormon  that  this  bill 
was  intended  by  President  Young  to  serve  the  pur- 
poses of  his  own  mission  rather  than  to  benefit  the 
newly  enfranchised  class;  but,  as  the  issue  will  prove, 
it  was  really  an  important  step  in  the  progress  of 
reform.  The  women  of  Utah  have  now  in  their 
own  hands  the  power  to  absolutely  rule  their  own 
destiny ;  and  this  is  more  than  can  be  said  of  the 
millions  of  their  Gentile  sisters. 

The  municipal  election  in  Salt  Lake  City,  which 
occurred  but  two  days  after  the  approval  of  this  bill, 
for  the  first  time  in  Mormon  history  presented  a 
political  home  issue ;  but  the  new  voting  element 
was  not  brought  largely  into  requisition.  Only  a 
few  of  the  sisters  claimed  the  honor  of  voting  on 
that  occasion.  The  first  of  these  was  Miss  Seraph 
Young,  a  niece  of  President  Young,  who  thus  im- 
mortalized herself. 

This  grant  of  political  power  to  the  women  of 


THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM.  499 

Utah  is  a  sign  of  the  times.  The  fact  cannot  die 
that  the  Mormon  people  piloted  the  nation  west- 
ward ;  and,  under  the  inspiration  of  the  great  im- 
pulses of  the  age,  they  are  destined  to  be  the 
reformatory  vanguard  of.  the  nation. 


CHAPTER  LIL 

THE  LIE    OF    THE    ENEMY    REFUTED A    VIEW    OF    THE 

WOMEN    IN    COUNCIL     OVER     FEMALE     SUFFRAGE— 
THE    SISTERS    KNOW    THEIR    POLITICAL    POWER. 

It  was  charged,  however,  by  the  anti-Mormons, 
that  woman  suffrage  in  Utah  was  only  designed  to 
further  enslave  the  Mormon  women  ;  that  they  took 
no  part  in  its  passage,  and  have  had  no  soul  in  its 
exercise.  Nearly  the  reverse  of  this  is  the  case, 
as  the  records,  to  follow,  will  show. 

In  the  expositions  of  the  Mormon  religion,  priest- 
hood and  genius,  which  have  been  given,  it  has 
been  seen  that  the  women  are,  equally  with  their 
prophets  and  apostles,  the  founders  of  their  church 
and  the  pillars  of  its  institutions ;  the  difference 
being  only  that  the  man  is  first  in  the  order,  and 
the  woman  is  his  helpmate ;  or,  more  perfectly  ex- 
pressed, "  they  twain  are  one,"  in  the  broadest  and 
most  exalted  sense.  Hence,  no  sooner  was  suffrage 
granted  to  the  Mormon  women,  than  they  exercised 
it  as  a  part  of  their  religion,  or  as  the  performance 
of  woman's  life  duties,  marked  out  for  her  in  the 
economy  of  divine  providence.  In  this  apostolic 
spirit,  they  took  up  the  grant  of  political  power. 
Hence,  also,  in  accordance  with  the  fundamental 


THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM.  50! 

Mormon  view  of  an  essential  partnership  existing 
between  the  man  and  the  woman,  "  in  all  things," 
both  in  this  world  and  in  the  world  to  come,  there 
grew  up,  as  we  have  seen,  in  the  days  of  Joseph  the 
prophet,  female  organizations,  set  apart  and  blessed 
for  woman's  ministry  in  this  life,  to  be  extended  into 
the  "  eternities."  True,  these  women's  organizations 
have  been  known  by  the  name  of  relief  societies, 
but  their  sphere  extends  to  every  department  of 
woman's  mission,  and  they  may  be  viewed  as  female 
suffrage  societies  in  a  female  suffrage  movement,  or 
society-mates  of  any  masculine  movement  which 
might  arise  to  shape  or  control  human  affairs,  relig- 
ious, social  or  political.  It  was  this  society  that,  as 
by  the  lifting  of  the  finger,  in  a  moment  aroused 
fifty  thousand  women  in  Utah,  simultaneously  to 
hold  their  "  indignation  mass-meetings  "  throughout 
the  territory,  against  the  Cullom  bill.  At  that  very 
moment  the  female  suffrage  bill  was  passed  by 
their  Legislature,  so  that  the  exercise  of  their  vote 
at  the  subsequent  election  was  a  direct  expression 
of  their  will  upon  the  most  vital  of  all  social  ques- 
tions— the  marriage  question.  Here  are  the  minutes 
of  a  general  meeting  of  this  great  Female  Relief 
Society,  held  in  Salt  Lake  City,  February  19,  1870— 
just  seven  days  after  the  passage  of  their  bill,  and 
two  days  before  the  exercise  of  the  female  vote  at 
the  election  : 

MINUTES. — Most  of  the  wards  of  the  city  were 
represented.  Miss  E.  R.  Snow  was  elected  presi- 
dent, and  Mrs.  L.  D.  Alder  secretary. 

Meeting  opened  with  singing;  prayer  by  Mrs. 
Harriet  Cook  Young. 


THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM. 

Miss  Eliza  R.  Snow  arose  and  said,  to  encourage 
the  sisters  in  good  works,  she  would  read  an  account 
of  our  indignation  meeting,  as  it  appeared  in  the 
Sacramento  Union;  which  account  she  thought  a 
very  fair  one.  She  also  stated  that  an  expression  of 
gratitude  was  due  acting-Governor  Mann,  for  sign- 
ing the  document  granting  woman  suffrage  in  Utah, 
for  we  could  not  have  had  the  right  without  his 
sanction,  and  said  that  Wyoming  had  passed  a  bill 
of  this  kind  over  its  Governor's  head,  but  we  could 
not  have  done  this. 

The  following  names  were  unanimously  selected 
to  be  a  committee  for  said  purpose  :  Eliza  R.  Snow, 
Bathsheba  W.  Smith,  Sarah  M.  Kimball,  M.  T. 
Smoot,  H.  C.  Young,  N.  D.  Young,  Phoebe  Wood- 
ruff, M.  I.  Home,  M.  N.  Hyde,  Eliza  Cannon,  Rachel 
Grant,  Amanda  Smith. 

Mrs.  Sarah  M.  Kimball  said  she  had  waited  pa- 
tiently a  long  time,  and  now  that  we  were  granted 
the  right  of  suffrage,  she  would  openly  declare  her- 
self a  woman's  rights  woman,  and  called  upon  those 
who  would  do  so  to  back  her  up,  whereupon  many 
manifested  their  approval.  She  said  her  experience 
in  life  had  been  different  from  that  of  many.  She 
had  moved  in  all  grades  of  society ;  had  been  both 
rich  and  poor ;  had  always  seen  much  good  and  in- 
telligence in  woman.  The  interests  of  man  and 
woman  cannot  be  separated ;  for  the  man  is  not 
without  the  woman  nor  the  woman  without  the  man 
in  the  Lord.  She  spoke  of  the  foolish  custom  which 
deprived  the  mother  of  having  control  over  her  sons 
at  a  certain  age ;  said  she  saw  the  foreshadowing  of 
a  brighter  day  in  this  respect  in  the  future.  She 
said  she  had  entertained  ideas  that  appeared  wild, 
which  she  thought  would  yet  be  considered  woman's 
rights ;  spoke  of  the  remarks  made  by  Brother 
Rockwood,  lately,  that  women  would  have  as  much 
prejudice  to  overcome,  in  occupying  certain  posi- 
tions, as  men  would  in  granting  them,  and  concluded 


THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM.  503 

by  declaring  that  woman  was  the  helpmate  of  man 
in  every  department  of  life. 

Mrs.  Phoebe  Woodruff  said  she  was  pleased  with 
the  reform,  and  was  heart  and  hand  with  her  sisters. 
She  was  thankful  for  the  privilege  that  had  been 
granted  to  women,  but  thought  we  must  act  in  wis- 
dom and  not  go  too  fast.  She  had  looked  for  this 
day  for  years.  God  has  opened  the  way  for  us. 
We  have  borne  in  patience,  but  the  yoke  on  woman 
is  partly  removed.  Now  that  God  has  moved  upon 
our  brethren  to  grant  us  the  right  of  female  suffrage, 
let  us  lay  it  by,  and  wait  till  the  time  comes  to  use 
it,  and  not  run  headlong  and  abuse  the  privilege. 
Great  and  blessed  things  are  ahead.  All  is  right 
and  will  come  out  right,  and  woman  will  receive 
her  reward  in  blessing  and  honor.  May  God  grant 
us  strength  to  do  right  in  his  sight. 

Mrs.  Bathsheba  W.  Smith  said  she  felt  pleased  to 
be  engaged  in  the  great  work  before  them,  and  was 
heart  and  hand  with  her  sisters.  She  never  felt 
better  in  her  life,  yet  never  felt  more  her  own  weak- 
ness, in  view  of  the  greater  responsibilities  which 
now  rested  upon  them,  nor  ever  felt  so  much  the 
necessity  of  wisdom  and  light ;  but  she  was  deter- 
mined to  do  her  best.  She  believed  that  woman 
was  coming  up  in  the  world.  She  encouraged  her 
sisters  with  the  faith  that  there  was  nothing  required 
of  them  in  the  duties  of  life  that  they  could  not  per- 
form. 

Mrs.  Prescindia  Kimball  said :  "  I  feel  comforted 
and  blessed  this  day.  I  am  glad  to  be  numbered  in 
moving  forward  in  this  reform ;  feel  to  exercise 
double  diligence  and  try  to  accomplish  what  is  re- 
quired at  our  hands.  We  must  all  put  our  shoulder 
to  the  wheel  and  go  ahead.  I  am  glad  to  see  our 
daughters  elevated  with  man,  and  the  time  come 
when  our  votes  will  assist  our  leaders,  and  redeem 
ourselves.  Let  us  be  humble,  and  triumph  will  be 
ours.  The  day  is  approaching  when  woman  shall 


504  THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM. 

be  redeemed  from  the  curse  placed  upon  Eve,  and  I 
have  often  thought  that  our  daughters  who  are  in 
polygamy  will  be  the  first  redeemed.  Then  let  us 
keep  the  commandments  and  attain  to  a  fullness,, 
and  always  bear  in  mind  that  our  children  born  in 
the  priesthood  will  be  saviors  on  Mount  Zion." 

Mrs.  Zina  D.  Young  said  she  was  glad  to  look 
upon  such  an  assemblage  of  bright  and  happy  faces, 
and  was  gratified  to  be  numbered  with  the  spirits 
who  had  taken  tabernacles  in  this  dispensation,  and 
to  know  that  we  are  associated  with  kings  and 
priests  of  God;  thought  we  do  not  realize  our  priv- 
ileges. Be  meek  and  humble  and  do  not  move  one 

o 

step  aside,  but  gain  power  over  ourselves.  Angels 
will  visit  the  earth,  but  are  we,  as  handmaids  of  the 
Lord,  prepared  to  meet  them  ?  We  live  in  the  day 
that  has  been  looked  down  upon  with  great  anxiety 
since  the  morn  of  creation. 

Mrs.  M.  T.  Smoot  said :  "  We  are  engaged  in  a 

freat  work,  and  the  principles  that  we  have  em- 
raced  are  life  and  salvation  unto  us.  Many  prin- 
ciples are  advanced  on  which  we  are  slow  to  act. 
There  are  many  more  to  be  advanced.  Woman's 
rights  have  been  spoken  of.  I  have  never  had  any 
desire  for  more  rights  than  I  have.  I  have  consid- 
ered politics  aside  from  the  sphere  of  woman ;  but, 
as  things  progress,  I  feel  it  is  right  that  we  should 
vote,  though  the  path  may  be  fraught  with  difficulty." 
Mrs.  Wilmarth  East  said  she  would  bear  testi- 
mony to  what  had  been  said.  She  had  found  by 
experience  that  "  obedience  is  better  than  sacrifice." 
I  desire  to  be  on  the  safe  side  and  sustain  those 
above  us;  but  I  cannot  agree  with  Sister  Smoot  in 
regard  to  woman's  rights.  I  have  never  felt  that 
woman  had  her  privileges.  I  always  wanted  a  voice 
in  the  politics  of  the  nation,  as  well  as  to  rear  a 
family.  I  was  much  impressed  when  I  read  the 
poem  composed  by  Mrs.  Emily  Woodmanse — "  Who 
Cares  to  Win  a  Woman's  Thought."  There  is  a 


THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM.  505 

bright  day  coming;  but  we  need  more  wisdom  and 
humility  than  ever  before.  My  sisters,  I  am  glad 
to  be  associated  with  you — those  who  have  borne 
the  heat  and  burden  of  the  day,  and  ask  God  to 
pour  blessings  on  your  head. 

Eliza  R.  Snow,  in  closing,  observed,  that  there 
was  a  business  item  she  wished  to  lay  before  the 
meeting,  and  suggested  that  Sister  Bathsheba  W. 
Smith  be  appointed  on  a  mission  to  preach  retrench- 
ment all  through  the  South,  and  woman's  rights,  if 
she  wished. 

The  suggestion  was  acted  upon,  and  the  meeting 
adjourned  with  singing  "  Redeemer  of  Israel,"  and 
benediction  by  Mrs.  M.  N.  Hyde. 

Let  the  reader  be  further  told  that,  though  this 
was  a  sort  of  a  convention  of  the  great  Relief  So- 
ciety of  Utah,  which  can  move  fifty  thousand  women 
in  a  moment,  it  was  not  a  woman's  suffrage  meeting. 
It  was  a  gathering  of  the  sisters  for  consideration 
of  the  retrenchment  of  the  table,  and  general  do- 
mestic economy,  the  retrenchment  societies  having 
been  just  inaugurated  under  the  leadership  of  Sister 
Home.  But,  it  will  be  seen  that  the  meeting  was 
changed  to  a  woman's  feast  of  anticipations,  and 
table-retrenchment  met  scarcely  an  incidental  refer- 
ence that  day ;  for  the  spirit  of  woman's  future 
rested  upon  the  sisters,  spoke  with  its  "  still,  small 
voice,"  and  pointed  to  the  bright  looming  star  of 
woman's  destiny. 

That  these  women  will  move  wisely,  and  in  the 
fear  of  God,  is  very  evident ;  nor  will  they  use  the 
tremendous  power  which  they  are  destined  to  hold 
to  break  up  their  church  and  destroy  their  faith 
in  the  revelation  of  the  "new  and  everlasting  cove- 


506  THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM. 

nant,"  given  through  the  prophet  Joseph  Smith. 
Indeed,  they  will  yet  send  their  testimony  through 
the  world,  with  ten  thousand  voices,  confirmed  by 
the  potency  of  the  woman's  vote,  and  flood  the  na- 
tion with  their  light. 

Congress  need  not  fear  to  trust  the  woman's  su- 
preme question  into  the  safe  keeping  of  fifty  thou- 
sand God-fearing,  self-sacrificing,  reverent  women. 
In  vain  will  the  anti-Mormons  and  pretentious  "  re- 
generators" look  for  these  women  to  become  revo- 
lutionary or  impious.  What  they  do  will  be  done 
in  the  name  and  fear  of  the  Lord  ;  yet,  mark  the 
prophesy  of  one  of  their  leaders  :  "  The  day  is  ap- 
"  proaching  when  woman  shall  be  redeemed  from 
"  the  curse  of  Eve ;  and  I  have  often  thought  that 
"  our  daughters  who  are  in  polygamy  will  be  the 
"  first  redeemed." 

Here  is  the  curse:  "In  sorrow  thou  shalt  bring 
"  forth  children  ;  and  thy  desire  shall  be  to  thy  hus- 
"  band,  and  he  shall  rule  over  thee  /"  Woman  will  be 
redeemed  from  that  curse,  as  sure  as  the  coming  of 
to-morrow's  sun.  No  more,  after  this  generation, 
shall  civilized  man  rule  over  his  mate,  but  "  they 
twain  shall  be  one ;"  and  the  sisters  are  looking  for 
that  millennial  day.  These  are  the  "  wise  virgins  " 
of  the  church ;  and  their  lamps  are  trimmed. 


CHAPTER    LIIL 

MEMBERS    OF    CONGRESS    SEEK    TO    DISFRANCHISE    THE 

WOMEN     OF     UTAH CLAGGETT's     ASSAULT THE 

WOMEN  OF  AMERICA  COME  TO  THEIR  AID CHARLES 

SUMNER  ABOUT  TO  ESPOUSE  THEIR  CAUSE DEATH 

PREVENTS  THE  GREAT  STATESMAN^  DESIGN. 

But  the  enemies  of  the  Mormons,  at  home  and 
abroad,  who  have  sought  to  break  up  their  religious 
institutions  and  turn  their  sacred  relations  into  un- 
holy covenants,  have,  from  the  very  hour  of  the  grant 
of  woman's  charter,  also  sought  to  take  away  from 
them  female  suffrage.  And  perhaps  they  would 
have  done  so  ere  now,  had  not  a  million  American 
women  been  on  the  side  of  the  Mormons,  in  this. 
Claggett  of  Montana,  in  his  attack  upon  the  people 
of  Utah,  in  the  House  of  Representatives,  January 
29th,  1873,  gave  to  Congress  a  touch  of  the  anti- 
Mormon  opposition  to  female  suffrage  in  Utah.  He 
said : 

"  My  friend  from  Utah  [Hooper]  goes  on  to  say 
that  Utah  is  a  long  way  in  advance  of  the  age  in 
one  respect ;  that  female  suffrage  has  been  adopted 
there.  What  was  the  reason  for  adopting  that 
measure  ?  Was  it  because  the  peculiar  institution 
of  the  territory  recognizes  in  any  degree  whatever, 
the  elevation,  purity,  and  sanctity  of  women?  No, 


508  THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM. 

sir.  When  the  Union  Pacific  Railroad  was  com- 
pleted, and  when  the  influx  of  miners  and  other 
outsiders  began  to  come  into  the  territory,  the 
chiefs  of  the  Mormon  hierarchy,  fearing  that  power 
would  pass  from  their  hands  by  the  gradual  change 
of  population,  by  adopting  female  suffrage  trebled 
their  voting  power  by  a  stroke  of  their  pen  ;  and  I 
am  credibly  informed  upon  the  authority  of  at  least 
fifty  men,  that  in  practice  in  that  territory  any  child 
or  woman,  from  twelve  years  old  and  upwards,  that 
can  wear  a  yard  of  calico,  exercises  the  prerogatives 
of  a  freeman,  so  far  as  voting  is  concerned." 

The  flippant  remark  of  the  delegate  from  Mon- 
tana, that  every  Mormon  woman  could  exercise  the 
prerogative  of  a  freeman,  called  forth  a  burst  of 
laughter  from  the  house ;  but  it  would  have  been 
more  in  keeping  with  the  great  theme  of  woman's 
rights,  had  a  hearty  "  Thank  God  !"  rang  from  the 
lips  of  those  legislators  who  laughed  in  derision. 
Of  course,  the  gentleman's  statement  was  an  exag- 
geration ;  but  what  a  story  he  has  unwittingly  told 
of  the  power  that  has  been  committed  to  the  hands 
of  the  Mormon  women  ?  What  an  epic  prophesy 
he  gave  of  woman's  destiny,  when  he  said,  that  from 
the  age  of  twelve  years  they  are  trained  in  Utah  to 
exercise  the  freeman's  prerogative.  If  this  be  so — 
and  it  is  near  enough  to  the  truth — and  if  the  Mor- 
mon women  have  trebled  the  power  of  the  men  by 
the  grant  of  female  suffrage,  then  already  do  they 
hold  not  only  their  own  destiny  in  their  hands,  but 
also  the  destiny  of  the  men.  Their  very  husbands 
are  depending  upon  them  for  grace  and  salvation 
from  their  enemies,  in  spite  of  all  their  enemies'  de- 
signs. Do  legislators  for  a  moment  foolishly  fear 


THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM.  509 

that  the  Mormon  women  will  not  discover  this  vast 
power  which  they  hold,  and  discovering,  wield  it  al- 
most as  a  manifest  destiny?  They  have  discovered 
it ;  and  their  future  movements  will  manifest  it,  to 
the  astonishment  of  the  whole  civilized  world. 
Fifty  to  a  hundred  thousand  women,  who  are  hence- 
forth in  one  single  State  to  be  trained,  from  the  age 
of  twelve,  to  exercise  the  political  power  of  "  free- 
men," cannot  but  be  free,  and  can  have  nothing  less 
than  a  splendid  future  before  them. 

Mr.  Claggett  blasphemed  against  the  truth,  when 
he  said  that  there  was  nothing  in  the  Mormon  re- 
ligion that  "  recognized,  in  any  degree  whatever,  the 
elevation,  purity  and  sanctity  of  woman."  This  is 
a  wicked  outrage  against  the  sisters,  whose  lives  are 
stainless  and  matchless  records  of  purity,  devotion 
and  heroism.  That  devotion  of  itself  would  elevate 
and  enoble  their  characters ;  and,  if  Congress  and 
the  American  people  believe  them  to  be  martyrs  to 
their  religion,  then  their  very  martyrdom  should 
sanctify  them  in  the  eyes  of  the  nation. 

Moreover,  woman  suffrage  is  a  charter  not  incom- 
patible with  the  genius  of  Mormonism,  but  in  posi- 
tive harmony  therewith.  The  Mormon  Church  is 
originally  based  upon  the  woman  as  well  as  upon 
the  man.  She  is  with  him  a  partner  and  priest,  in 
all  their  religious  institutions.  The  sisters  have 
also  exercised  the  vote  in  the  church  for  the  last 
forty-seven  years,  it  being  conferred  with  their  mem- 
bership. So  female  suffrage  grows  out  of  the  very 
genius  and  institutions  of  their  church. 

Now  the  marriage  question  specially  belongs  to 
the  women  of  the  age,  and  not  to  Congress  ;  and  the 


5IO  THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM. 

Mormon  women  must  and  will  make  the  country 
practically  confess  as  much.  They  will  do  it  by  a 
movement  potent  enough  upon  this  question,  if  they 
have  to  stir  all  the  women  of  America  to  the  issue. 
They  are  forced  to  this  by  their  supreme  necessi- 
ties— their  honor,  their  duty,  their  love,  their  most 
sacred  relations.  Their  brothers,  their  husbands 
and  their  sons  are  threatened  with  prisons,  for  that 
which  their  religion  and  the  Bible  sanction — that 
Bible  which  Christendom  for  nearly  two  thousand 
years  has  received  as  the  word  of  God.  If  there 
be  a  radical  fault,  then  is  the  fault  in  their  too  sub- 
stantial faith  in  that  word.  Surely  there  can  be  no 
crime  in  a  Bible  faith,  else  Christendom  had  been 
under  a  condemnation  that  eternity  itself  would  not 
outlive.  But  the  damnation  of  Congress  and  the 
regenerators  is  to  be  visited  upon  the  heads  of  the 
innocent — for  the  shaping  of  the  case  is  making  the 
sisters  in  the  eye  of  the  law  dishonored  women. 
The  very  spies  and  minions  of  the  court  enter  their 
marriage  chamber — sacred  among  even  barbarians— 
to  find  the  evidence  for  prosecution,  or  to  drag  them 
to  the  witness-box,  to  testify  against  their  husbands, 
or  disown  them  to  screen  them  from  punishment. 
Not  in  the  history  of  civilization  has  there  been 
such  a  monstrous  example  before.  Claggett  has 
said,  in  Congress,  of  their  marriage,  "  That  it  tears 
11  the  crown  jewel  from  the  diadem  of  woman's  purity, 
"  and  takes  from  her  the  holy  bond  which  honors 
"her  in  all  the  nations  of  the  earth  ;  which  has  ele- 
"vated  lechery  to  the  dignity  of  a  religious  dogma, 
"  and  burns  incense  upon  the  altars  of  an  unhallowed 
"  lust ;  and  above  all,  and  as  a  crime  against  the  fu- 


THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM.  511 

"  ture,  which  ages  of  forgiveness  cannot  condone  nor 
"  the  waters  of  ocean  wash  out,  which  yearly  writes 
"  in  letters  that  blister  as  they  fall,  the  word  '  bas- 
"  tard  '  across  the  branded  brows  of  an  army  of  little 
"children.  Such  an  institution  is  not  entitled  by 
"any  right,  either  human  or  divine,  to  hide  the 
"  hideous  deformity  of  its  nakedness  with  the  mantle 
"  of  religion,  nor  seek  shelter  under  the  protecting 
"  aegis  of  the  civil  law."  [Applause  from  Congress.] 
The  women  of  Mormondom  must  force  Claggett 
and  Congress  to  take  this  back.  It  is  such  as  he 
who  spoke,  and  they  who  applauded,  who  have 
written  "  in  letters  that  blister  as  they  fall  the  word 
"  '  bastard '  across  the  branded  brows  of  an  army  of 
"  little  children,"  and  the  mothers  of  those  dear  little 
branded  ones  must  appeal  to  the  wives  and  mothers 
of  America,  to  take  that  curse  of  "  bastard  "  from 
their  innocent  brows.  They  must  ask  those  noble 
women  everywhere  in  America,  who  are  earnestly 
battling  for  their  own  rights,  and  especially  the 
supreme  right  of  woman  to  settle  the  marriage 
question  ;  and  the  answer  to  their  mighty  prayer 
shall  come  back  to  them  from  a  million  women, 
throughout  the  land.  The  women  of  America,  who 
lead  the  van  of  the  new  civilization,  shall  cry  to 
Congress  and  the  nation  in  behalf  of  their  Mormon 
sisters,  with  voices  that  will  not  be  hushed,  till  jus- 
tice be  done.  Indeed,  already  have  they  done  this, 
so  far  as  the  suffrage  is  concerned ;  and  it  is  due  to 
them  alone,  under  Providence,  that  the  women  of 
Utah  have  not  been  disfranchised  This  is  best 
brought  home  to  the  reader  by  reference  to  the  fol- 
lowing, from  the  report  of  the  Pennsylvania  Woman 


EJI2  THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM. 

Suffrage  Association,  read  at  the  Opera  House,  De- 
troit, Mich.,  October  13,  1874: 

"  During  the  session  of  Congress  we  spent  some 
time  in  the  capital,  proposing  to  work  for  the  en- 
franchisement of  the  women  of  the  District  of 
Columbia  and  of  the  territories ;  but  finding  that 
Congress  was  more  likely  to  disfranchise  the  women 
who  already  possessed  this  right,  than  to  enfranchise 
others,  our  efforts  were  used,  as  far  as  possible,  to 
prevent  this  backward  step. 

"  Had  we  been  a  voter,  we  might  have  had  less 
trouble  to  convince  some  of  our  friends  in  this  affair. 

"Several  bills  were  introduced,  anyone  of  which, 
if  it  became  a  law,  would  have  disfranchised  the 
women  of  Utah. 

"  The  McKee  bill  had  been  referred  to  the  House 
Committee  on  Territories.  While  the  subject  was 
under  discussion  in  the  committee,  by  invitation  of 
the  members,  on  two  occasions,  we  stated  our  views. 
One  of  the  members,  before  the  committee  con- 
vened, gave  his  reason  for  favoring  the  passage  of 
the  bill. 

"  '  The  woman's  vote  sustains  polygamy,'  said  he, 
'  and  to  destroy  that,  I  would  take  the  right  of  suf- 
frage from  every  woman  in  the  territory.' 

"  '  Would  it  do  that  ?'  we  inquired. 

"  '  I  think  it  would.' 

"'  Did  polygamy  exist  in  the  territory  before  the 
women  voted  ?' 

"  '  Oh  !  yes.' 

"  '  Have  they  ever  had  the  privilege  of  voting 
against  it  ?' 

" '  No  ;  that  has  never  been  made  an  issue ;  but 
they  voted  to  send  a  polygamist  to  Congress.' 

"  '  Did  any  man  vote  for  him  ?' 

"  '  Yes,  more  than  eleven  thousand  men,  and  ten 
thousand  women.' 

"'  How  many  voted  for  the  opposing  candidate?' 


THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM.  513 

" '  Something  less  than  two  thousand  men  and 
women  together.' 

" '  You  intend  to  disfranchise  the  men  who  voted 
for  this  man  ?'  we  asked. 

"'  Oh  !  no.' 

"  '  Then  the  polygamist  can  still  come  to  Congress 
by  a  majority  of  five  to  one.'  Though  this  was  true, 
he  seemed  to  think  it  very  wrong  to  disfranchise  the 
men 

"  How  many  of  the  committee  reasoned  as  this 
one  did,  we  are  unable  to  say,  but  the  majority 
wished  to  disfranchise  the  women,  as  they  returned 
the  bill  to  the  House  with  the  obnoxious  sections 
unchanged.  The  friends  of  woman,  by  their  honest 
work,  prevented  action  being  taken  on  the  bill,  and 
perhaps  saved  the  country  the  disgrace  of  having 
done  such  a  great  wrong,  which  it  could  not  soon 
have  undone.  There  was  something  more  vital  to 
the  well-being  of  the  nation  in  this,  than  some  of 
our  legislators  were  willing  to  admit.  Had  they 
passed  this  act  they  would  probably  have  laid  the 
foundation  for  the  ruin  of  the  nation.  If  Congress 
has  the  power  to  disfranchise  one  class,  it  undoubt- 
edly has  the  power  to  disfranchise  another,  and 
what  freeman  in  such  a  case  is  secure  in  his  rights  ? 

"  Similar  bills  were  before  the  Senate  and  House 
Judiciary  Committees. 

"  The  question  came :  Where  shall  we  look  for 
help  among  those  in  power?  To  the  true,  the 
trusted  and  the  tried.  To  those  of  the  grandest  in- 
tellect and  the  purest  heart.  To  the  friends  of  the 
weak  and  the  oppressed.  Our  appeal  shall  be  made 
to  the  highest,  to  the  honorable  and  most  honored 
Charles  Sumner.  He  cordially  granted  us  a  hear- 
ing. When  we  stated  the  object  of  our  visit,  he 
quietly  remarked,  'You  have  come  to  the  wrong  per- 
son. I  have  no  influence  with  these  men.' 

"  After  talking  some  time  on  the  subject,  he  said, 
•  I  should  hesitate  to  take  this  right  from  any  who 

33 


514  THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM. 

now  possess  it.  I  will  go  farther ;  I  would  be  will- 
ing to  grant  it  to  those  who  have  it  not.'  He  after- 
wards remarked,  *  I  shall  investigate  this  matter 
thoroughly.' 

" '  The  bill  passed  the  Senate  last  year,  and  many 
good  men  voted  for  it,'  we  said. 

"  He  kindly  apologized  for  their  action,  in  these 
words  :  '  They  did  not  fully  realize  the  nature  of  the 
bill ;  they  had  not  examined  it  carefully.' 

"  '  Had  it  deprived  them,  or  any  class  of  men,  of 
the  right  to  vote,  would  they  have  realized  what  it 
meant,  and  voted  differently  ?'  we  inquired. 

"  '  In  that  case  they  would  doubtless  have  had 
sharp  eyes  to  note  all  its  defects,'  he  answered,  with 
a  smile.  '  I  did  not  vote  on  it.  I  was  sick  in  bed  at 
the  time.  Have  you  seen  Mr.  Frelinghuysen  in 
reference  to  this  ?'  was  the  next  inquiry. 

"  '  We  have  not.  It  seems  useless.  A  man  who 
would  frame  such  a  bill  would  not  be  likely  to  change 
it.' 

"  But  we  followed  his  advice,  saw  Mr.  Frelinghuy- 
sen, Mr.  Edmunds  and  others.  Mr.  Frelinghuysen 
declared  he  would  not  change  his  bill  however  much 
he  might  be  abused. 

"  Two  days  after  we  again  met  Mr.  Sumner  and 
stated  the  results  of  our  efforts. 

"  In  closing  this  second  interview  Mr.  Sumner  said, 
*  I  will  present  to  the  Senate  any  memorial  or  peti- 
tion you  may  wish,  and  then  refer  it  to  the  Judiciary 
Committee.  That  is  the  best  way  to  do.' 

"  His  farewell  words  were  :  *  Whether  you  succeed 
or  not,  I  wish  you  all  well.' 

"  Just  three  weeks  from  the  day  of  our  last  con- 
versation with  Mr.  Sumner,  his  work  on  earth  ceased, 
and  the  cause  of  justice  lost  a  grand  friend.  On 
the  morning  of  February  2Oth  we  handed  him  a 
suffrage  memorial,  which  he  presented  to  the  Sen- 
ate, requesting  that  it  be  referred  to  the  Judiciary 
Committee,  which  was  almost  his  last  official  act." 


THE    WOMEN-  OF    MORMONDOM.  515 

The  women  of  Utah  were  not  disfranchised. 
Doubtless  this  was  chiefly  owing  to  the  searching 
and  logical  editorials  of  the  Womaris  Journal, 
which  placed  the  subject  in  its  true  light  before  the 
people,  together  with  the  action  of  the  advocates  of 
woman  suffrage  in  New  England,  New  York,  Penn- 
sylvania and  other  States.  This  was  a  grand  vic- 
tory for  woman  suffrage.  Miss  Mary  F.  Eastman, 
in. her  report  to  the  New  York  Association,  said : 
41  When  the  bill,  disfranchising  the  women  of  Utah, 
"  came  before  Congress,  our  representatives  were 
"  promptly  petitioned  to  use  their  influence  against 
41  the  measure." 

Thus  it  will  be  seen  that  the  women  of  Mormon- 
dom  and  the  women  of  America  have  a  common 
cause,  in  this  all-vital  marriage  question,  which  is 
destined  to  receive  some  very  decided  and  peculiar 
solution  before  the  end  of  the  century.  And  it  must 
be  equally  certain  that  fifty  thousand  God-fearing 
women,  with  the  vote  of  "  freemen  " — as  Mr.  Clag- 
gett  has  it — coming  fairly  out  upon  the  national 
platform,  in  the  great  issue,  will  give  a  toning  to  the 
marriage  question,  for  which  even  orthodox  Chris- 
tians, now  so  much  their  enemies,  will  heartily  thank 
God. 


CHAPTER  LIV. 

WOMAN    EXPOUNDS    HER   OWN    SUBJECT THE    FALL— 

HER    REDEMPTION    FROM    THE   CURSE RETURNING 

INTO    THE    PRESENCE    OF    HER    FATHER HER    EX- 
ALTATION. 

The  high  priestess  thus  expounds  the  subject  of 
woman,  from  her  Mormon  standpoint : 

In  the  Garden  of  Eden,  before  the  act  of  disobe- 
dience, through  which  Adam  and  Eve  were  shutout 
from  the  presence  of  God,  it  is  reasonable  to  sup- 
pose that  Eve's  position  was  not  inferior  to,  but 
equal  with,  that  of  Adam,  and  that  the  same  law 
was  applicable  to  both.  Moses  says,  "  God  created 
man  male  and  female."  President  Brigham  Young 
says,  "  Woman  is  man  in  the  priesthood." 

God  not  only  foreknew,  but  he  had  a  purpose  to 
accomplish  through,  the  "  fall ;"  for  he  had  provided 
a  sacrifice ;  Jesus  being  spoken  of  as  a  "  Lamb  slain 
from  the  foundation  of  the  world." 

It  seems  that  woman  took  the  lead  in  the  great 
drama.  The  curse  followed,  and  she  became  sub- 
ject to  man;  "and  he  shall  rule  over  thee,"  which 
presupposes  a  previous  equality.  But  was  that  curse 
to  be  perpetual  ?  Were  the  daughters  of  Eve— 
who  was  a  willing  instrument  in  effecting  a  grand 


THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM.  517 

purpose,  that  shall  ultimate  in  great  good  to  the 
human  family — to  abide  that  curse  forever?  No. 
God  had  otherwise  ordained.  Through  the  atoning 
blood  of  Christ,  and  obedience  to  his  gospel,  a  plan 
was  devised  to  remove  the  curse  and  bring  the  sons 
and  daughters  of  Adam  and  Eve,  hot  only  to  their 
primeval  standing  in  the  presence  of  God,  but  to  a 
far  higher  state  of  glory. 

In  the  meridian  of  time,  the  Saviour  came  and 
introduced  the  gospel,  "  which  before  was  preached 
unto  Abraham,"  and  which,  after  a  lapse  of  nearly 
eighteen  centuries — when  men  had  "  changed  its 
ordinances,  and  broken  the  everlasting  covenant " — 
when  "  the  man  of  sin  had  been  revealed,  exalting 
himself  above  all  that  is  called  God  " — after  hireling 
priests  had  mutilated  its  form,  discarded  its  powers, 
and  rejected  "  the  testimony  of  Jesus,  which  is  the 
spirit  of  prophesy,"  the  Lord  restored  it  in  fullness 
to  the  earth,  with  all  its  gifts,  powers,  blessings  and 
ordinances. 

For  this  purpose  he  raised  up  Joseph  Smith,  the 
great  prophet  of  the  last  days,  to  whom  the  angel 
that  John,  when  on  the  Isle  of  Patmos,  saw  "  flying 
through  the  midst  of  heaven,  having  the  everlasting 
gospel  to  preach  to  every  nation,  kindred,  tongue 
and  people,  saying,  fear  God  and  give  glory  to  him, 
for  the  hour  of  his  judgment  is  come,"  etc.,  appeared, 
and  announced  the  glorious  news  of  the  Dispensa- 
tion of  the  Fullness  of  Times,  and  the  restoration 
of  the  fullness  of  the  gospel. 

This  gospel,  and  this  only,  will  redeem  woman 
from  the  curse  primevally  entailed.  It  is  generally 
admitted  that  "Christianity"  ameliorates  the  condi- 


518  THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM. 

tion  of  woman  ;  but  the  Christianity  of  the  profes- 
sing world,  mutilated  as  it  has  been,  can  only 
ameliorate,  it  cannot  redeem.  Each  religious  de- 
nomination has  fragments  or  portions  of  the  true 
form,  but  no  vestige  of  the  vital  power  that  was 
manifested  by  Jesus  Christ,  and  restored  through 
Joseph  Smith.  Nothing  short  of  obedience  to  this 
gospel  in  its  fullness  will  exalt  woman  to  equality 
with  man,  and  elevate  mankind  to  a  higher  condi- 
tion than  we  occupied  in  our  pre-existent  state. 

Woman,  in  all  enlightened  countries,  wields,  di- 
rectly or  indirectly,  the  moving  influence  for  good 
or  for  ill.  It  has  been  pertinently  remarked  :  "  Show 
"  me  the  women  of  a  nation,  and  I  will  describe  that 
"  nation."  Let  the  pages  of  history  decide  if  ever  a 
nation  became  a  wreck,  so  long  as  woman  nobly 
honored  her  being  by  faithfully  maintaining  the 
principles  of  virtuous  purity,  and  filled  with  grace 
and  dignity  her  position  as  wife  and  mother. 

Would  God,  the  kind  parent,  the  loving  father, 
have  permitted  his  children  to  sink  into  the  fallen 
condition  which  characterizes  humanity  in  its  pres- 
ent degraded  state,  without  instituting  means  by 
which  great  good  would  result  ?  Would  we,  as 
intelligent  beings  in  a  former  existence,  have  con- 
sented, as  we  did,  to  resign  the  remembrance  and 
all  recollection  of  that  existence,  and  come  down  to 
earth  and  run  our  chances  for  good  or  evil,  did  we 
not  know  that,  on  reasonable  conditions,  and  by 
means  provided,  we  could  work  our  way  back  to,  at 
least,  our  original  positions  ?  Emphatically,  no  !  It 
is  only  by  that  "spirit  which  searches  all  things, 
yea,  even  the  deep  things  of  God,"  that  we  can. 


THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM.  519 

comprehend  our  own  beings,  and  our  missions  on 
the  earth,  with  the  bearing  of  our  pre-existence  on 
our  present  lives,  of  which  we  only  know  what  God 
reveals ;  and,  as  man,  by  his  own  wisdom  cannot 
find  out  God,  so  man  by  reasoning  cannot  pry  into 
the  circumstances  of  his  former  life,  nor  extend  his 
researches  into  the  interminable  eternities  that  lie 
beyond. 


CHAPTER  LV. 

WOMAN'S  VOICE  IN  THE  PRESS  OF  UTAH  —  THE  WO- 
MAN'S   EXPONENT MRS.    EMELINE   WELLS SHE 

SPEAKS    FOR     THE    WOMEN    OF     UTAH LITERARY 

AND    PROFESSIONAL    WOMEN    OF    THE    CHURCH. 

And  the  women  of  Zion  have  a  press.  More 
than  up  to  their  Gentile  sisters  are  they  in  this 
respect.  Few  of  the  church  organizations  of  Chris- 
tendom can  boast  a  woman's  journal.  There  are 
but  few  of  them  in  all  the  world,  and  they  are 
mostly  edited  and  supported  by  the  heterodox 
rather  than  the  orthodox  element. 

The  Woman  s  Exponent  is  one  of  those  few.  It 
is  published  by  the  women  of  the  Mormon  Church, 
having  a  company  organization,  of  which  Eliza  R. 
Snow  is  president.  Mrs.  Emeline  B.  Wells  is  the 
practical  editor.  It  was  established  June  ist,  1872. 

The  Womaris  Exponent,  in  a  general  sense,  may 
be  considered  heterodox,  seeing  that  it  is  an  advo- 
cate of  woman's  rights  on  the  marriage  question 
and  female  suffrage,  but  it  is  also  apostolic,  and  de- 
voted to  the  Mormon  mission.  It  represents  the 
opinions  and  sentiments  of  the  Mormon  women. 
All  of  their  organizations  are  fairly  represented  in 
its  columns,  and  it  is  thus  a  means  of  intercommu' 


THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM.  52! 

nication  between  branches,  bringing  the  remotest 
into  close  connection  with  the  more  central  ones, 
and  keeping  all  advised  of  the  various  society  move- 
ments. Its  editorial  department  is  fully  up  to  the 
standard  of  American  journalism. 

Mrs.  Wells,  the  editor,  like  many  prominent  Mor- 
mon women  previously  mentioned,  is  of  Puritan 
descent,  being  a  native  of  New  England,  and  of 
pure  English  extraction.  Her  family  name  was 
Woodward,  and  she  was  born  in  Petersham,  Mass., 
February  29,  1828.  At  an  early  age  she  began  to 
manifest  a  penchant  for  literature,  and  while  in  her 
teens  produced  many  literary  fragments  that,  as  if 
by  manifest  destiny,  pointed  in  the  direction  of  her 
present  profession.  In  1842  she  was  baptized  into 
the  Mormon  Church.  It  is  needless  to  say  that  this 
was  a  cause  of  mortification  to  her  many  associates 
and  friends,  and  especially  so  to  a  select  few,  whose 
appreciative  kindness  had  pictured  a  glowing  future 
for  the  young  litterateur.  Her  mother,  who  was 
also  a  convert  to  the  Mormon  faith,  fearing  that  the 
persuasions  of  friends  might  lead  her  into  error, 
sent  her  to  Nauvoo,  in  the  spring  of  1844,  that  she 
might  be  away  from  their  influence.  The  people  to 
whom  her  mother  confided  her,  apostatized  shortly 
after  her  arrival,  but  Emeline  remained  steadfast. 
Some  time  thereafter  she  became  a  plural  wife.  In 
the  exodus,  her  mother,  who  had  joined  her  the  year 
before,  succumbed  under  the  accumulation  of  hard- 
ships that  the  saints  had  then  to  undergo,  and,  dying, 
joined  the  immortal  company  of  martyrs  who  fell  in 
those  days  of  trial. 

At  winter  quarters  she  was  engaged  in  teaching, 


522  THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM. 

until  her  journey  to  the  valley  in  1848.  Here,  since 
the  organization  of  relief  societies,  and  more  espe- 
cially since  the  women  of  Utah  obtained  the  right 
of  suffrage,  she  has  employed  a  large  portion  of  her 
time  in  public  labors,  for  the  benefit  and  elevation 
of  woman.  In  addition  to  her  present  editorial 
duties,  she  fills  the  responsible  position  of  president 
of  the  organization  that,  since  November,  1876,  has 
been  engaged  in  storing  up  grain  against  a  day  of 
famine.  Under  the  energetic  management  of  this 
organization,  vast  quantities  of  grain  have  been 
stored  in  the  various  wards  and  settlements  of 
Utah. 

Sister  Emeline  is  also  a  poetess  of  no  little  merit. 
As  a  set-off  to  the  popular  idea  that  the  Mormon 
women  in  polygamy  have  no  sentiment  towards 
their  husbands,  the  following  exquisite  production, 
from  her  pen,  entitled  "  The  Wife  to  her  Husband," 
is  offered : 

It  seems  to  me  that  should  I  die, 

And  this  poor  body  cold  and  lifeless  lie, 
And  thou  shouldst  touch  my  lips  with  thy  warm  breath, 

The  life-blood  quicken'd  in  each  sep'rate  vein, 

Would  wildly,  madly  rushing  back  again, 
Bring  the  glad  spirit  from  the  isle  of  death. 

/ 

It  seems  to  me  that  were  I  dead, 

And  thou  in  sympathy  shouldst  o'er  me  shed 
Some  tears  of  sorrow,  or  of  sad  regret, 

That  every  pearly  drop  that  fell  in  grief, 

Would  bud,  or  blossom,  bursting  into  leaf, 
To  prove  immortal  love  could  not  forget. 

I  do  believe  that  round  my  grave, 

When  the  cool,  fragrant,  evening  zephyrs  wave, 
Shouldst  thou  in  friendship  linger  near  the  spot, 

And  breathe  some  tender  words  in  memory, 

That  this  poor  heart  in  grateful  constancy, 
Would  softly  whisper  back  some  loving  thought. 


THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM.  523 

I  do  believe  that  should  I  pass 

Into  the  unknown  land  of  happiness, 
And  thou  shouldst  wish  to  see  my  face  once  more, 

That  in  my  earnest  longing  after  thee, 

I  would  come  forth  in  joyful  ecstacy, 
And  once  again  gaze  on  thee  as  before. 

I  do  believe  my  faith  in  thee, 

Stronger  than  life,  an  anchor  firm  to  be, 
Planted  in  thy  integrity  and  worth, 

A  perfect  trust,  implicit  and  secure ; 

That  will  all  trials  and  all  griefs  endure, 
And  bless  and  comfort  me  while  here  on  earth. 

I  do  believe  who  love  hath  known, 

Or  sublime  friendship's  purest,  highest  tone, 
Hath  tasted  of  the  cup  of  ripest  bliss, 

And  drank  the  choicest  wine  life  hath  to  give, 

Hath  known  the  truest  joy  it  is  to  live; 
What  blessings  rich  or  great  compared  to  this  ? 

I  do  believe  true  love  to  be, 

An  element  that  in  its  tendency, 
Is  elevating  to  the  human  mind ; 

An  intuition  which  we  recognize 

As  foretaste  of  immortal  Paradise, 
Through  which  the  soul  will  be  refined. 

Among  the  more  prominent  contributors  to  the 
Exponent  is  Lu.  Dalton,  a  lady  in  whose  writings 
are  manifested  the  true  spirit  and  independence  of 
the  Mormon  women.  The  vigor  and  vivacity  of 
her  poetic  productions  are  suggestive  of  a  future 
enviable  fame. 

Mrs.  Hannah  T.  King,  mentioned  elsewhere,  is  a 
veteran  poetess  of  well-sustained  reputation.  She 
ranked  among  the  poetesses  of  England  before 
joining  the  Mormon  Church,  being  on  intimate 
terms  with  the  celebrated  Eliza  Cook. 

Another  of  the  sisters  who  has  won  distinction 
as  a  poetess  of  the  church,  is  Emily  Woodmansee. 
She  is  also  a  native  of  England,  and  began  her 


524  THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM. 

poetic  career  when  but  a  girl.  Several  of  her  poems 
have  been  reproduced  in  literary  journals  of  the 
East,  winning  marked  attention. 

Miss  Sarah  Russell,  who  writes  under  the  nom  de 
plume  of"  Hope,"  is  also  a  poetess  of  promise  ;  but 
she  is  younger  to  fame  than  the  before-mentioned. 

Emily  B.  Spencer  may  also  be  mentioned  in  this 
connection. 

Miss  Mary  E.  Cook  is  an  apostle  of  education,  in 
the  church.  She  is  a  professional  graduate,  and  has 
held  prominent  positions  in  first-class  schools  of  St. 
Louis  and  Chicago.  Coming  to  Utah  several  years 
ago,  Miss  Cook,  being  a  passionate  student  of  an- 
cient history,  was  attracted  by  a  cursory  glance  at 
the  Book  of  Mormon.  On  a  careful  perusal  of  it 
she  was  struck  with  the  account  therein  given  of 
the  ancient  inhabitants  of  this  continent;  and  espe- 
cially was  she  impressed  with  the  harmony  existing 
between  that  account  and  the  works  of  Bancroft 
and  others  concerning  the  ancient  races  of  America. 
She  unhesitatingly  pronounced  the  book  genuine. 
Miss  Cook  has  been  instrumental  in  establishing 
the  system  of  graded  schools  in  Utah.  Her  success 
has  been  marked,  in  this  capacity,  and  she  is  also  a 
rising  leader  among  the  women  of  the  church.  With 
her  should  also  be  mentioned  her  sister,  Miss  Ida 
Cook,  who  is  now  one  of  the  most  prominent 
teachers  of  the  territory.  Nor  should  we  omit  to 
mention  Orpha  Everett,  who  is  another  prominent 
teacher. 

The  ladies  are  also  represented  in  the  historian's 
office  of  the  church,  in  the  person  of  a  daughter  of 
Apostle  Orson  Pratt,  and  Miss  Joan  M.  Campbell. 


THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM.  525 

Miss  Campbell  has  been  an  attache  of  the  historian's 
office  since  a  mere  child.  She  is  a  clerk  of  the  Ter- 
ritorial Legislature,  and  a  Notary  Public. 

Mrs.  Romania  B.  Pratt,  wife  of  Parley  P.  Pratt, 
Jr.,  is  a  medical  professor.  She  is  a  graduate  of  the 
Woman's  Medical  College,  Philadelphia,  and  is  now 
connected,  as  a  practitioner,  with  the  celebrated 
water-cure  establishment  at  Elmira,  N.  Y. 

Sister  Elise  Shipp  is  another  Mormon  lady  now 
under  training  for  the  medical  profession  in  the 
Woman's  Medical  College,  Pennsylvania. 

Thus  it  will  be  seen  that,  in  the  educational  and 
professional  spheres,  the  Mormon  women  are  mak- 
ing a  creditable  showing. 


CHAPTER  LVI. 

RETROSPECTION APOSTOLIC  MISSION  OF  THE  MORMON 

WOMEN— HOW  THEY  HAVE  USED   THE  SUFFRAGE— 

THEIR    PETITION    TO    MRS.  GRANT TWENTY-SEVEN 

THOUSAND     MORMON     WOMEN     MEMORIALIZE    CON- 
GRESS. 

Ere  this  record  be  closed,  let  us  review  the  later 
acts  of  these  extraordinary  women,  who  have  fairly 
earned  the  position  of  apostles  to  the  whole  United 
States. 

They  have  pioneered  the  nation  westward,  where 
Providence  was  directing  its  course  of  empire,  and 
now  they  are  turning  back  upon  the  elder  States  of 
the  Union  as  pioneers  of  a  new  civilization. 

The  manifest  prophesy  of  events  is,  that  Utah,  in 
the  near  future,  is  going  down  from  the  mountains 
of  refuge  to  the  very  seat  of  government,  with  wo- 
man's mission  to  all  America.  Very  consistently, 
yet  very  significantly  also,  are  the  women  of  Utah 
rising  to  power  and  importance  in  the  nation,  through 
woman  suffrage  and  the  exercise  of  the  constitu- 
tional right  of  petition. 

Since  the  grant  of  woman  suffrage  they  have 
exercised  the  ballot  repeatedly  in  their  municipal 
and  territorial  elections.  Moreover,  within  that 


THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM.  527 

time,  they  have  voted  upon  the  constitution  for  the 
"  State  of  Deseret,"  which  will  doubtless  be  sub- 
stantially the  one  under  which  the  territory  will  be 
admitted  into  the  Union.  Female  suffrage  was  one 
of  the  planks  of  that  constitution.  It  will  become 
a  part  of  the  organic  act  of  the  future  State.  No 
Congress  will  dare  to  expunge  it,  for  such  an  attempt 
would  bring  a  million  of  the  women  of  America  into 
an  organized  movement  against  the  Congress  that 
should  dare  to  array  itself  against  this  grand  charter 
of  woman's  freedom.  Though  Wyoming  was  the 
first  to  pass  a  woman  suffrage  bill,  which  met  a  veto 
from  its  governor,  and  has  experienced  a  somewhat 
unhappy  history  since,  the  honor  of  having  voted 
for  the  greatest  measures  known  in  social  and  po- 
litical economy  rests  with  the  women  of  Utah. 
They  have  taken  action  upon  the  very  foundation 
of  society-building.  Already,  therefore,  the  women 
of  Utah  lead  the  age  in  this  supreme  woman's  issue; 
and,  if  they  carry  their  State  into  the  Union  first  on- 
the  woman  suffrage  plank,  they  will  practically  make 
woman  suffrage  a  dispensation  in  our  national  econ- 
omy for  all  the  States  of  the  Federal  Union.  And 
it  will  be  consistent  to  look  for  a  female  member  of 
Congress  from  Utah.  Let  woman  be  once  recog- 
nized as  a  power  in  the  State,  as  well  as  in  society 
and  the  church,  and  her  political  rights  can  be  ex- 
tended according  to  the  public  mind. 

The  Mormon  women  have  also  fallen  back  upon 
the  original  right  of  citizens  to  petition  Congress. 
Their  first  example  of  the  kind  was  when  they  held 
their  grand  mass-meetings  throughout  the  territory 
and  memorialized  Congress  against  the  Cullom  bill. 


528  THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM. 

The  second  was  the  very  remarkable  petition  to 
Mrs.  Grant.  It  is  here  reproduced  as  a  historical 
unique : 

"  MRS.  PRESIDENT  GRANT: 

"  Honored  Lady :  Deeming  it  proper  for  woman 
to  appeal  to  woman,  we,  Latter-day  Saints,  ladies  of 
Utah,  take  the  liberty  of  preferring  our  humble  and 
earnest  petition  for  your  kindly  and  generous  aid  ; 
not  merely  that  you  are  the  wife  of  the  chief  magis- 
trate of  this  great  nation,  but  we  are  also  induced 
to  appeal  to  you  because  of  your  high  personal 
reputation  for  nobility  and  excellence  of  character. 

"  Believing  that  you,  as  all  true  women  should 
do  (for  in  our  estimation  every  wife  should  fill  the 
position  of  counselor  to  her  husband),  possess  the 
confidence  of  and  have  much  influence  with  his 
excellency,  President  Grant,  we  earnestly  solicit 
the  exercise  of  that  influence  with  him  in  behalf  of 
our  husbands,  fathers,  sons  and  brothers,  who  are 
now  being  exposed  to  the  murderous  policy  of  a 
clique  of  federal  officers,  intent  on  the  destruction 
of  our  honest,  happy,  industrious  and  prosperous 
people. 

"  We  have  broken  no  constitutional  law  ;  violated 
no  obligation,  either  national  or  sectional ;  we  revere 
the  sacred  constitution  of  our  country,  and  have 
ever  been  an  order-loving,  law-abiding  people. 

"  We  believe  the  institution  of  marriage  to  have 
been  ordained  of  God,  and  therefore  subject  to  his 
all-wise  direction.  It  is  a  divine  rite,  and  not  a  civil 
contract,  and  hence  no  man,  unauthorized  of  God, 
can  legally  administer  in  this  holy  ordinance. 

^ "  We  also  believe  in  the  Holy  Bible,  and  that  God 
did  anciently  institute  the  order  of  plurality  of  wives, 
and  sanctioned  and  honored  it  in  the  advent  of  the 
Saviour  of  the  world,  whose  birth,  on  the  mother's 
side,  was  in  that  polygamous  lineage,  as  he  testified 


THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM.  529 

to  his  servant  John,  on  the  Isle  of  Patmos,  saying: 
'  I  am  the  root  and  the  offspring  of  David ;'  and  we 
not  only  believe,  but  most  assuredly  know,  that  the 
Almighty  has  restored  the  fullness  of  the  everlast- 
ing gospel,  through  the  prophet  Joseph  Smith,  and 
with  it  the  plurality  of  wives.  This  we  accept  as  a 
purely  divine  institution.  With  us  it  is  a  matter  of 
conscience,  knowing  that  God  commanded  its  prac- 
tice. 

"  Our  territorial  laws  make  adultery  and  licen- 
tiousness penal  offences,  the  breach  of  which  sub- 
jects offenders  to  fine  and  imprisonment.  These 
laws  are  being  basely  subverted  by  our  federal  offi- 
cers, who  after  unscrupulously  wresting  the  territo- 
rial offices  from  their  legitimate  incumbents,  in  order 
to  carry  out  suicidal  schemes,  are  substituting  licen- 
tiousness for  the  sacred  order  of  marriage,  and 
seeking  by  these  measures  to  incarcerate  the  most 
moral  and  upright  men  of  this  territory,  and  thus 
destroy  the  peace  and  prosperity  of  this  entire  com- 
munity. They  evidently  design  to  sever  the  conju- 
gal, parental  and  paternal  ties,  which  are  dearer  to 
us  than  our  lives. 

"  We  appreciate  our  husbands  as  highly  as  it  is 
possible  for  you,  honored  madam,  to  appreciate 
yours.  They  have  no  interests  but  such  as  we  share 
in  common  with  them.  If  they  are  persecuted,  we 
are  persecuted  also.  If  they  are  imprisoned,  we  and 
our  children  are  left  unprotected. 

"  As  a  community  we  love  peace  and  promote  it 
Our  leaders  are  peacemakers,  and  invariably  stimu- 
late the  people  to  pacific  measures,  even  when  sub- 
jected to  the  grossest  injustice.  President  Brigham 
Young  and  several  of  his  associates,  all  noble  and 
philahthropic  gentlemen,  are  already  under  indict- 
ment to  be  arraigned,  before  a  packed  jury,  mostly 
non-residents,  for  the  crime  of  licentiousness,  than 
which  a  more  outrageous  absurdity  could  not 
exist. 

34 


530  THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM. 

"  Under  these  cruel  and  forbidding  circumstances, 
dear  madam,  our  most  fervent  petition  to  you  is, 
that  through  the  sympathy  of  your  womanly  heart 
you  will  persuade  the  President  to  remove  these 
malicious  disturbers  of  the  peace,  or  at  least  that 
he  will  stop  the  disgraceful  court  proceedings,  and 
send  from  Washington  a  committee  of  candid,  in- 
telligent, reliable  men,  who  shall  investigate  matters 
which  involve  the  rights  of  property,  perhaps  life, 
and  more  than  all,  the  constitutional  liberties  of 
more  than  one  hundred  thousand  citizens. 

"  By  doing  this  you  will  be  the  honored  instru- 
ment, in  the  hands  of  God,  of  preventing  a  foul 
disgrace  to  the  present  administration,  and  an  eter- 
nal blot  on  our  national  escutcheon. 

"  And  your  petitioners  will  ever  pray,"  etc. 

It  is  believed  that  this  petition  had  due  weight 
in  accomplishing  the  dismissal  of  Judge  McKean, 
which  afterward  occurred. 

The  third  example  was  still  greater.  It  was  a 
memorial  to  Congress,  by  the  women  of  Utah,  upon 
their  marriage  question,  the  grant  of  a  homestead 
right  to  woman,  and  for  the  admission  of  Utah  as  a 
State.  It  was  signed  by  twenty-six  thousand  six 
hundred  and  twenty-six  women  of  Utah,  and  was 
duly  presented  to  both  houses  of  Congress. 

And  these  are  the  acts  and  examples  of  enfran- 
chised Mormon  women  ;  not  the  acts  and  prompt- 
ings of  President  Young  and  the  apostles,  but  of 
the  leaders  of  the  sisterhood.  It  may  be  stated, 
however,  that  President  Young  and  the  apostles  ap- 
proved and  blessed  their  doings  ;  but  this  confesses 
much  to  their  honor. 

How  suggestive  the  question,  What  if  the  leading 
men  of  every  State  in  the  Union  should  do  as  much 


THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM.  531 

for  woman  in  her  mission,  instead  of  setting  up  bar- 
riers in  her  way  ?  Were  such  the  case,  in  less  than 
a  decade  we  should  see  female  suffrage  established 
in  every  State  of  the  federation. 


CHAPTER  LVII. 


SARAH  THE    MOTHER  OF  THE  COVENANT IN  HER  THE 

EXPOUNDING    OF     THE    POLYGAMIC    RELATIONS     OF 

THE      MORMON     WOMEN FULFILMENT      OF     GOD*S 

PROMISE  TO  HER— THE  MORMON  PARALLEL— SARAH 
AND  HAGAR  DIVIDE  THE  RELIGIOUS  DOMINATION 
OF  THE  WORLD. 


Meet  we  now  Sarah  the  mother  of  the  covenant. 
In  her  is  incarnated  the  very  soul  of  patriarchal 
marriage.  In  her  is  the  expounding  of  the  patri- 
archal relations  of  her  Mormon  daughters.  Sarah, 
who  gave  to  her  husband  another  wife,  that  the 
covenant  which  the  Lord  made  with  him  might  be 
fulfilled. 

O  woman,  who  shall  measure  thy  love  ?  And 
thus  to  give  thyself  a  sacrifice  for  thy  love !  Thus 
on  the  altar  ever ! 

It  is  thy  soul-type  in  nature  that  makes  nature 
beneficent.  Had  not  nature  the  soul  of  woman  she 
had  been  infinitely  selfish ;  an  infinite  love  had  not 
been  born ;  there  had  been  no  Christ ;  no  sacrifice 
of  self,  that  blessing  and  joy  might  come  into  the 
world. 

The  story  of  Sarah  is  the  more  touchingly  beau- 
tiful when  we  remember  that  it  has  its  cross.  It 


THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM. 


533 


would  be  a  grievous  wrong  to  Sarah's  memory 
should  we  forget  the  sacrifice  that  her  act  necessi- 
tated, or  underestimate  that  sacrifice.  And  let  us 
not  forget  that  it  was  not  Abraham  who  bore  that 
cross,  great  and  good  though  he  was. 

The  sacrifice  in  the  initial  of  the  covenant  is  a 
psalm  to  woman. 

Keeping  in  mind  the  episode  of  Sarah  and  Ha- 
gar,  let  us  continue  the  Abrahamic  story : 

"  And  God  said  unto  Abraham,  as  for  Sarai  thy 
wife,  thou  shalt  not  call  her  name  Sarai,  but  Sarah 
shall  her  name  be. 

"  And  I  will  bless  her,  and  give  thee  a  son  also  of 
her  :  yea,  I  will  bless  her,  and  she  shall  be  a  mother 

of  nations ;  kings  of  people  shall  be  of  her. 
****** 

"  And  the  Lord  visited  Sarah  as  he  had  said,  and 
the  Lord  did  unto  Sarah  as  he  had  spoken. 

"  For  Sarah  conceived,  and  bare  Abraham  a  son 
in  his  old  age,  at  the  time  of  which  God  had  spoken 
to  him." 

The  divine  story  was  once  familiar ;  it  is  now  al- 
most forgotten.  But  it  is  the  living  word  of  God 
to  the  Mormon  people. 

Reincarnate  in  modern  times  the  soul  of  this  vast 
Abrahamic  iliad.  Breathe  the  breath  of  its  genius 
into  a  young  civilization.  A  civilization  born  not  in 
the  East,  where  once  was  the  cradle  of  empires — 
where  now  are  their  crumbling  tombs.  A  young 
civilization,  born  in  the  revirgined  West — the  West, 
where  new  empires  are  springing  up  on  the  very 
dust  of  empires  which  had  expired  when  Egypt  was 
but  a  maiden — ere  Babylon  was  a  mother — ere 
Rome  was  born. 


534  THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM. 

Re-utter  the  word  and  will  of  that  God  who  spake 
to  the  Hebrew  sire  on  the  plains  of  Mamre;  utter 
it  now  in  the  birth  and  growth  of  a  young  Israel  in 
the  land  of  America.  Comprehend  him  in  his  birth 
and  in  his  growth.  Consider  his  genius  and  his 
covenant. 

In  Abraham  of  old  is  the  expounding  and  under- 
standing of  the  renewed  covenant  with  the  latter- 
day  Israel ;  and  in  Sarah  of  old  is  the  expounding 
and  understanding  of  patriarchal  marriage '  among 
her  Mormon  daughters. 

The  Mormon  woman  is  Sarah  in  the  covenant,  as 
she  is  Eve  in  the  creation  and  fall.  She  has  appro- 
priated the  text  of  the  covenant.  She  claims  her 
mother  Sarah's  rights.  She  invokes  her  mother  Sa- 
rah's destiny:  "  She  shall  be  a  mother  of  nations; 
kings  of  people  shall  be  of  her." 

Thus  in  the  mind  of  the  Mormon  woman  is  patri- 
archal marriage  established  by  her  God.  Be  it  con- 
fessed  that  woman  was  a  listener  to  the  Abrahamic 
promise  in  the  days  of  Sarah  ;  was  she  not  also  a 
listener  in  the  days  of  Joseph  the  prophet?  Could 
the  heavens  thus  speak  and  woman  fail  to  hear  ? 
Could  such  promises  be  made  and  motherhood  fail 
to  leap  for  joy  ? 

If  she  dared  to  bear  the  patriarchal  cross,  was  it 
not  because  she  saw  brightly  looming  in  her  destiny 
the  patriarchal  crown  ?  In  this  life  only  the  cross — 
in  all  the  lives  to  come  a  crown  of  glory ! 

The  Mormon  woman  knows  nothing  of  "  polyga- 
my "  as  conceived  by  the  Gentiles.  She  is  con- 
stantly declaring  this.  There  is  no  "  many-wife 
system  "  in  Mormondom.  It  is  patriarchal  marriage. 


THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM.  535 

There  is  the  destiny  of  a  race  in  the  Mormon  wo- 
man's vision.  For  this  came  she  into  the  world.  In 
her  is  motherhood  supremely  exalted,  and  woman 
is  redeemed  from  bondage  to  her  husband. 

Glance  at  the  story  of  Sarah  again.  Mark  its 
stupendous  import  to  motherhood.  Witness  the 
introduction  of  polygamy  into  the  Abrahamic  family. 
And,  if  the  wondrous  sequel  has  any  meaning,  Isaac 
was  the  Lord's  answering  gift  to  Sarah's  act,  to  fulfil 
the  covenant. 

And  while  remembering  the  sacrifice  of  Sarah 
and  Hagar  let  us  also  remember  the  compensation. 
Those  two  mothers  are  without  parallel  in  all  his- 
tory. Races  and  empires  came  of  them.  Sarah 
and  Hagar,  in  their  sons  Isaac  and  Ishmael,  have 
divided  the  world. 

From  Isaac's  line  was  given  to  the  world  the 
Christ ;  from  Ishmael  came  Mohammed,  the  pro- 
phet of  hundreds  of  millions. 

Weigh  those  two  mothers,  with  their  sons,  their 
races,  and  their  civilizations.  What  a  weight  of 
empire  !  What  were  Egypt  and  Babylon,  compared 
with  Sarah  and  Hagar  ? 

The  Abrahamic  subject  is  the  most  stupendous 
of  all  history.  That  subject  has  been  reincarnated 
in  Mormonism.  Its  genius  and  covenants  are  with 
the  Mormon  people ;  the  age  is  witnessing  the  re- 
sults. 

Patriarchal  marriage  is  one  of  those  results. 
Sarah  is  a  live  character  of  our  times.  She  will 
fulfil  her  destiny. 

From  the  courts  above  the  Mormon  woman  shall 
look  down  upon  an  endless  posterity.  In  the 


536  THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM. 

heavens  and  in  the  earth  shall  her  generations  be 
multiplied. 

This  is  the  faith  of  each  Mormon  Sarah — each 
mother  of  the  covenant.     This  only  is  her  polygamy. 


CHAPTER  LVIII. 

WOMANHOOD  THE  REGENERATING  INFLUENCE  IN  THE 
WORLD- — FROM  EVE,  THE  FIRST,  TO  MARY,  THE 
SECOND  EVE GOD  AND  WOMAN  THE  HOPE  OF 

MAN — WOMAN'S  APOSTLESHIP — JOSEPH  vs.  PAUL— 

THE  WOMAN  NATURE  A  PREDICATE  OF  THE  WORLD'S 

FUTURE. 

In  the  beginning  religion  and  nature  dwelt  to- 
gether. The  book  of  creation  was  gospel  then. 
Creation  was  the  only  revelation. 

Motherhood  is  the  first  grace  of  God,  manifested 
through  woman.  The  very  name  of  all  things  is  in 
the  mother :  "  And  Adam  called  his  wife's  name 
Eve;  because  she  was  the  mother  of  all  living." 

See  in  what  divine  ordinance  woman's  mission  on 
earth  began.  The  theme  of  the  initial  psalm  that 
ascended  to  the  heavens,  which  listened  to  catch 
from  earth  the  first  notes  of  the  everlasting  harmo- 
nies :  "  I  have  gotten  a  man  from  the  Lord !" 

But  the  nature  of  the  mother  abounded  not  in 
Cain.  Woman's  soul  was  not  manifested  in  her 
first-born.  It  was  the  strength,  and  the  fierceness, 
and  the  selfishness  of  man  that  was  first  brought 
forth. 

And  Cain  was  very  wroth  because  of  his  brother, 


538  THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM. 

born  with  woman's  nature,  with  his  mother's  gentle- 
ness manifested  in  him.  And  he  "  rose  up  against 
his  brother  and  slew  him." 

Here  is  pre-epitomized  the  coming  .history  of  the 
race.  In  the  savage  strength  of  nature  the  world 
began.  In  the  gentleness  of  woman,  which  at 
length  prevailed  in  her  sons,  civilization  dawned. 

Woman's  apostleship  as  the  minister  of  the  "  word 
of  God  "  commenced  at  the  death  of  Abel. 


Turn  we  now  to  Mary,  the  mother  of  Christ,  to 
see  what  kind  of  man  she  "  hath  gotten  from  the 
Lord."  From  the  first  Eve  to  the  second  Eve,  to 
find  the  grace  of  woman's  nature  spreading  abroad 
in  her  Jesus,  for  the  salvation  of  the  world.  Moth- 
erhood now  in  the  regeneration. 

"  Hail  thou  that  art  highly  favored,  the  Lord  is 
with  thee:  blessed  art  thou  among  women. 

"  And  behold  thou  shalt  conceive  in  thy  womb, 
and  bring  forth  a  son,  and  shalt  call  his  name  Jesus." 

As  also  note  the  episode  of  her  meeting  with  her 
cousin  Elizabeth,  the  mother  of  John  the  Baptist. 

These  mothers  were  conscious  of  the  salvation  to 
be  born  of  woman.  Elizabeth  was  filled  with  the 
Holy  Ghost,  and  blessed  the  greater  mother;  and 
Mary  magnified  the  Lord  in  psalm,  and  said :  "  Be- 
"  hold  from  henceforth  all  generations  shall  call  me 
«  blessed." 

We  shall  yet  have  to  give  to  the  gospel  word 
"  regeneration  "  a  very  literal  meaning.  The  world 


THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM.  539 

must  be  regenerated,  in  fact,  before  much  salvation 
can  come  unto  it ;  regenerated  through  the  divine 
nature  of  woman  endowing  her  sons ;  and  regener- 
ated in  her  apostolic  ministry  to  the  race ;  which  in 
this  age  is  being  so  universally  acknowledged. 

The  world  must  be  born  again.  "  Except  a  man 
"be  born  again,  he  cannot  enter  into  the  kingdom 
"  of  heaven."  Except  mankind  be  regenerated,  no 
Christ  can  reign  with  his  saints  on  earth.  There 
is  something  more  than  mere  figure  of  speech  in 
this  gospel. 

The  generation  of  mankind  began  in  Cain ;  the 
regeneration  of  mankind  began  in  Christ.  The  one 
born  with  the  club ;  the  other  endowed  with  all- 
conquering  love.  The  scepters  of  the  two  creations 
typed  in  Cain  and  Jesus. 

Jesus  was  not  only  the  first  fruits  of  the  resurrec- 
tion, but  of  the  regeneration  also.  And  motherhood 
was  (before  fatherhood)  first  with  God  in  this  re- 
generation. Has  egotistic  man  sufficiently  cogita- 
ted over  this  fact  ?  And  does  he  fully  comprehend 
the  equally  significant  fact  that  woman  was  the  first 
witness  and  testament  of  the  resurrection  ? 

And  who  began  the  regeneration  of  the  race  ? 
Whose  human  nature  was  manifested  in  the  work? 
The  woman's ! 

God's  nature  in  Christ  needed  no  regeneration. 
Nor  did  the  woman's  nature  need  regeneration,  when 
thus  found  pure,  as  in  Mary.  This  is  the  great  fact 
embodied  in  the  Christ  example.  As  soon  may 
Christianity  be  wiped  out  as  this  fact ! 

What  an  astounding  truth  have  we  in  this  exam- 
ple— that  God  and  woman  have  brought  forth  a 


540  THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM. 

perfect  creation  and  an  infinite  love,  in  Jesus  their 
Christ. 

God  was  the  father  of  Jesus.  From  him  the 
Holy  Ghost.  From  him  the  wisdom  of  the  eterni- 
ties. From  him  the  power  to  call  a  legion  of  angels 
down  to  his  help,  had  he  so  willed  it.  From  him 
the  power  to  lay  down  his  life  and  take  it  up  again. 
From  him  the  power  to  conquer  death  and  burst 
the  gates  of  hell. 

The  mother  of  Jesus — a  virgin  of  the  house  of 
David,  and  not  a  flaming  goddess  from  the  skies. 

From  woman,  the  love  of  Jesus  for  humanity. 
From  her  his  sympathies  for  the  race.  'Twas  she, 
in  her  son,  who  forgave  sin  ;  she  who  bade  the  sinner 
go  and  sin  no  more;  she  who  wept  over  Jerusalem 
as  a  mother  weepeth  over  her  young  And  it  was 
woman,  in  her  son,  who  died  upon  the  cross  for  the 
sins  of  the  world  ! 

It  was  not  God  the  father  who  in  Jesus  died  ;  not 
he  who  passed  the  dark  hour  of  nature's  struggle 
in  the  garden;  not  God  who  prayed,  "Take  away 
"  this  cup  from  me :  nevertheless  not  what  I  will, 
"but  what  thou  wilt."  'Twas  woman  who  was  left 
alone  on  the  cross;  she,  in  her  son,  who  cried,  "  My 
"  God  !  my  God !  why  hast  thou  forsaken  me  ?" 

Love  is  of  the  woman.  That  is  the  great  lesson 
which  the  human  nature  of  Jesus  teaches;  and  it  is 
that  element  of  her  nature  which  shall  save  the 
world. 

Would  we  see  what  will  be  her  teaching  when  her 
apostleship  comes  to  prevail  in  the  earth,  let  us  read 
the  sermon  of  her  son  on  the  Mount.  Is  not  that 
woman's  own  gospel  ?  Is  it  not  also  her  philoso- 


THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM.  541 

phy — "  If  thy  brother  smite  thee  on  the  one  cheek 
"turn  unto  him  the  other  also?" 

And  in  this  regeneration  of  the  race,  in  nature 
and  spirit,  God  and  woman  are  thus  seen  first  alone. 
Man  came  not  to  their  help,  but  they  came  to  the 
help  of  man.  Here  is  groundwork  indeed  for  the 
reconstruction  of  society,  and  the  remoulding  of 
philosophy  ! 

In  the  past  the  apostleship  of  woman  has  not 
been  fairly  granted  to  her,  even  among  the  most 
civilized  nations.  But  it  shall  be ;  and  there  is  the 
hope  of  the  world. 

Paul,  in  the  egotism  of  man's  apostleship,  com- 
manded, "  Let  the  woman  be  silent  in  the  church." 
Yet  the  church  is  the  type  of  woman.  If  she  be 
silent,  then  will  there  be  but  little  of  saving  gospel 
in  the  world.  If  woman's  spiritual  nature  prevail 
not  in  the  church,  then  is  the  church  dead.  If  her 
faith  expires,  then  is  there  left  but  a  wretched  form 
of  godliness. 

The  prophet  Joseph  corrected  Paul,  and  made 
woman  a  voice  in  the  church,  and  endowed  her  with 
an  apostolic  ministry. 

And  in  the  regeneration  is  the  entire  significance 
of  Mormon  patriarchal  marriage.  First,  woman  in 
her  ever  blessed  office  of  motherhood  ;  next,  in  her 
divine  ministry.  Is  not  this  according  to  the  ex- 
ample ? 

The  chief  faith  of  the  Mormon  women  concern- 
ing themselves  is  that  they  are  called  with  a  holy 
calling  to  raise  up  a  righteous  seed  unto  the  Lord — 
a  holy  nation — a  people  zealous  of  good  works. 

The  Mormon  women  have    a  great    truth  here. 


542  THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM. 

Woman  must  regenerate  the  race  by  endowing  it 
with  more  of  her  own  nature.  She  must  bring  forth 
a  better  type  of  man,  to  work  out  with  her  a  better 
civilization. 

It  is  blasphemy  against  the  divine  truth  of  the 
world's  coming  redemption,  and  of  woman's  mission 
in  it,  to  scoff  at  the  Mormon  women  for  holding 
such  a  faith. 

Woman  shall  leaven  the  earth  with  her  own  na- 
ture. She  shall  leaven  it  in  her  great  office  of 
maternity,  and  in  her  apostolic  mission. 

It  shall  be  the  lofty  prophesy  of  the  coming  wo- 
man, "  Behold  from  henceforth  all  nations  call  me 
"  blessed !" 


CHAPTER  LIX. 

ZION,  A    TYPE    OF    "THE   WOMAN'S   AGE" THE    CULMI- 
NATING   THEME    OF    THE     POETS    OF    ISRAEL THE 

IDEAL     PERSONIFICATION     OF     THE     CHURCH THE 

BRIDE THE    COMING    EVE. 

Zion  the  joy  of  the  whole  earth  !  She  who  cometh 
down  from  heaven,  with  the  anointing  of  salvation 
upon  her  head. 

The  woman  of  the  future,  whom  the  Lord  hath 
chosen  !  Her  type  is  the  church,  with  the  divine 
nature  of  the  race  restored. 

Zion  is  coming  down  to  be  the  spiritual  mother 
of  the  earth.  She  shall  bruise  the  serpent's  head, 
in  her  seed  and  in  her  ministry.  Now  shall  woman 
be  not  only  the  mother  of  the  individual  Christ,  but 
she  shall  also  be  the  mother  of  the  universal  Christ. 

"  Saviours  shall  come  upon  Mount  Zion  !" 

The  daughters  of  Zion  shall  multiply  the  seed  of 
Christ. 

There  was  a  beautiful  consistency  and  a  deep 
mystical  meaning  in  the  words  of  the  old  Jewish 
prophets  when  personifying  Zion  as  the  woman — 
the  woman  of  the  Lord's  choosing,  for  the  earth's 
joy. 

They  sang  of  Zion  as  the  woman  of  the  future : 


544  THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM. 

"  Oh  that  the  salvation  of  Israel  were  come  out  of 
"  Zion  !  When  God  bringeth  back  the  captivity  of 
"  his  people,  Jacob  shall  rejoice  and  Israel  shall  be 
"glad." 

True,  Zion  is  sometimes  spoken  of  as  a  city,  but 
always  with  a  mixture  of  personification.  As  the 
Hebrew  poets  rose  to  the  height  of  their  great  sub- 
ject they  symbolized  her  as  a  veritable  woman,  with 
a  ministry  in  the  earth  ;  and  chiefly  symbolized  her 
as  the  woman  of  the  future. 

David,  the  great  psalmist,  led  the  theme,  for  Zion 
was  his  daughter;  then  glorious  Isaiah  swelled  the 
volume  of  earth's  epic  hymn.  What  a  culmination 
and  personification  is  this  :  "  For  thy  Maker  is  thy 
"husband;  the  Lord  of  Hosts  is  his  name;  and  thy 
"  Redeemer  the  Holy  One  of  Israel  ;  the  God  of 
"  the  whole  earth  shall  he  be  called." 

This  is  the  very  subject  of  Mary  the  mother  of 
Jesus.  But  here  enlarged.  This  is  Zion,  who  shall 
be  mother  of  many  Messiahs,  for  she  shall  bring 
forth  many  sons,  with  the  anointing  of  their  Lord's 
spirit  upon  them,  to  exalt  his  reign. 

"  Enlarge  the  place  of  thy  tent,  and  let  them 
stretch  forth  the  curtains  of  thy  habitations ;  for 
thou  shalt  bring  forth  on  the  right  hand  and  on  the 
left;  and  thy  seed  shall  inherit  the  Gentiles,  and 
make  the  desolate  cities  to  be  inhabited." 

'Tis  the  divine  mission  of  woman  to  the  race; 
oracled  by  lofty  souls  ;  her  holy  apostleship  on  earth 
pronounced.  She  is  to  be  incarnated  in  a  civiliza- 
tion on  whose  tables  shall  be  written,  "  Thy  Maker 
is  thine  husband." 


THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM.  545 

The  mission  of  woman  could  not  prevail  in  the 
barbaric  periods  of  the  race  ;  'twas  man's  work  to 
chisel  the  rocks  of  the  temple.  Not  even  had  her 
time  come  in  the  days  of  Christ,  though  no  one  has 
so  distinctly  foreshadowed  it  as  he. 

Paul  is  not  to  be  unqualifiedly  reproached  for 
bidding  woman  be  silent  in  the  church.  The  time 
had  not  then  come.  Not  as  potent  then  as  now  the 
thought :  "  Show  me  the  women  of  a  nation  and  I 
"  will  tell  thee  its  civilization."  And  there  is  still  a 
deeper  meaning  in  this  than  the  popular  thought. 
How  beautifully  has  Jesus  himself  kept  up  the  sym- 
bols of  the  coming  woman.  With  him  the  woman— 
Zion — becomes  the  "  Lamb's  bride :" 

"  Then  shall  the  kingdom  of  heaven  be  likened 
unto  ten  virgins,  which  took  their  lamps,  and  went 
forth  to  meet  the  bridegroom." 

M . .  j  •fj^wvU^^M 

And  this  was  to  be  in  the  age  "  when  the  Son  of 
"  Man  shall  come  in  his  glory,  and  all  the  holy  angels 
"  with  him." 

At  his  first  coming  the  kingdom  of  heaven  was 
likened  to  twelve  fishermen — not  ten  virgins — and 
he  said  unto  them,  "  Take  up  your  nets  and  follow 
"  me  and  I  will  make  you  fishers  of  men." 

But  when  the  cry  shall  go  forth,  "  Behold  the 
bridegroom  cometh,"  commotion  is  to  be  among  the 
virgins  of  the  earth — the  virgins  of  Zion  and  the 
virgins  of  Babylon.  Each  will  trim  their  lamps. 
Each  will  have  their  "  five  wise  "  and  "  five  foolish." 
Every  one  will  have  her  familiar  spirit.  But  the 
God  of  Israel  will  send  his  spirit  to  inspire  Zion,  for 
her  Maker  is  her  husband.  And  the  daughters  of 

35 


546  THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM. 

Zion  shall  trim  their  lamps  to  go  forth  to  meet  the 
bridegroom,  who  is  the  Lamb  of  God. 

The  age  of  Messiah's  coming  is  the  woman's  age ! 
or  there  is  no  sense  in  the  utterances  of  prophesy, 
nor  meaning  in  the  most  beautiful  parables  of  Christ 

And  this  is  the  woman's  age  !  All  humanity  is 
proclaiming  it ! 

The  women  of  the  age  are  obeying  the  impulses 
of  the  age.  Do  they  know  what  those  impulses 
mean  ?  They  have  heard  the  cry,  and  have  come 
forth.  Do  they  comprehend  what  that  cry  has  sig- 
nified ? — "  Behold,  the  bridegroom  cometh  ;  go  ye 
out  to  meet  him  !" 

Unwittingly  they  are  testing  the  Scriptures,  and 
proving  that  the  coming  of  Messiah  is  the  crowning 
truth  of  the  world.  However,  the  five  wise  virgins 
of  Zion  are  coming  forth  in  faith.  They  are  not 
unwittingly  fulfilling  their  Lord's  word.  They  have 
interpreted  the  cry,  and  are  trimming  their  lamps. 

Man  may  as  well  attempt  to  throw  back  the  ocean 
with  the  hollow  of  his  hand,  or  put  out  the  sun  with 
the  breath  of  his  command,  as  to  attempt  to  defeat 
the  oncoming  of  "  woman's  hour." 

Let  the  God  of  humanity  be  praised  for  this  ;  for 
did  not  the  virgins  come  out  at  this  eleventh  hour, 
the  fishermen  might  go  again  to  their  nets,  and  let 
the  midnight  pass,  and  earth  take  the  consequence. 

But  how  wondrously  are  the  divine  themes  of 
earth's  grace  from  God  revealed.  Down  through 
the  ages  they  came  as  echoes  mellowed  into  more 
celestial  tones. 

Creation  begins  again  !  Zion — the  New  Jerusa- 
lem— is  the  Lamb's  bride.  She  is  the  coming  Eve, 


THE   WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM.  547 

"  And  I  saw  a  new  heaven  and  a  new  earth,  for 
the  first  heaven  and  the  first  earth  were  passed 
away.  *  *  * 

"  And  I  John  saw  the  holy  city,  New  Jerusalem, 
coming  down  from  God  out  of  heaven,  prepared  as 
a  bride  adorned  for  her  husband. 

"  And  there  came  unto  me  one  of  the  seven  an- 
gels *  *  *  saying,  come  hither,  I  will  shew  thee 
the  bride,  the  Lamb's  wife. 

"  And  I  heard  as  it  were  the  voice  of  a  great  mul- 
titude, and  as  the  voice  of  many  waters,  and  as  the 
voice  of  many  thunderings,  saying  Alleluia :  for  the 
Lord  God  Omnipotent  reigneth. 

"  Let  us  be  glad  and  rejoice,  and  give  honor  to 
him  :  for  the  marriage  supper  of  the  Lamb  is  come, 
and  his  wife  hath  made  herself  ready. 

"  And  he  saith  unto  me,  write,  Blessed  are  they 
which  are  called  unto  the  marriage  supper  of  the 
Lamb." 

Surely  there  is  a  glorious  prophesy  and  a  sublime 
truth,  hallelujahed  from  the  ages  down,  in  this  pro- 
clamation of  the  woman's  mission  at  the  hour  of  the 
Lord's  coming. 

The  lives  of  the  Mormon  women  are  as  a  testa- 
ment to  the  age.  The  very  character  which  their 
church  has  taken,  as  the  literal  Zion  of  the  latter 
days,  shall  soon  be  recognized  as  the  symbol  of  the 
hour. 

And  the  virgins  in  every  land  shall  hear  the  cry, 
41  Behold,  the  bridegroom  cometh  ;  go  ye  out  to  meet 
him  1" 


CHAPTER  LX. 

TERRIBLE    AS  AN   ARMY  WITH  BANNERS FIFTY  THOU- 
SAND   WOMEN    WITH  'THE    BALLOT THEIR   GRAND 

MISSION    TO    THE    NATION — A    FORESHADOWING   OF 
THE    FUTURE    OF    THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM. 

"  Who  is  she  that  looketh  forth  as  the  morning, 
"  fair  as  the  moon,  clear  as  the  sun,  and  terrible  as 
"  an  army  with  banners  ?" 

The  Daughter  of  Zion ! 

Fifty  thousand  daughters  of  Zion  !  Each  with 
her  banner ! 

Her  banner,  female  suffrage  ! 

It  is  the  great  battle  of  woman  for  woman's  rights. 
The  Lord  of  Hosts  is  with  her. 

The  rights  of  the  women  of  Zion,  and  the  rights 
of  the  women  of  all  nations. 

Her  battle-field :  America  first ;  the  great  world 
next.  And  the  God  of  Israel  is  in  the  controversy. 


The  chiefest  right  of  woman  is  in  the  shaping 
and  settlement  of  the  marriage  question.  The  voice 
of  civilization  well  enunciates  this  supreme  doctrine. 
To  commit  this  all-sacred  matter  to  a  congress  of 
politicians,  or  to  leave  it  to  the  narrow  exactitude 


THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM.  549 

of  the  law-making  department,  is  as  barbaric  as  any 
monstrous  thing  the  imagination  can  conceive.  Not 
ruder  was  it  in  the  warlike  founders  of  Rome  to 
seize  the  virgins  as  spoil,  and  make  them  wives  to 
accomplish  their  empire-founding  ambitions,  than 
for  a  congress  of  American  legislators  to  seize  and 
prostitute  the  marriage  question  to  their  own  po- 
litical ends  and  popularity. 

Can  there  be  any  doubt  that  the  men  of  Wash- 
ington have  seized  polygamy  for  their  own  ends  ? 
And  are  these  men  of  the  parliamentary  Sodom  of 
modern  times  the  proper  persons  to  decide  the 
marriage  question  ? 

Will  woman  allow  her  sanctuary  to  be  thus  in- 
vaded and  her  supremest  subject  thus  defiled  ? 

If  there  is  anything  divine  in  human  affairs  it  is 
marriage,  or  the  relations  between  man  and  woman. 
Here  love,  not  congressional  law,  must  be  the  arbi- 
trator. Here  woman,  not  man,  must  give  consent. 
It  is  the  divine  law  of  nature,  illustrated  in  all  civil- 
ized examples.  What  is  not  thus  is  barbaric. 

Woman  is  chief  in  the  consents  of  marriage.  It 
is  her  right,  under  God  her  father  and  God  her 
mother,  to  say  to  society  what  shall  be  the  relations 
between  man  and  woman — hers,  in  plain  fact,  to  de- 
cide the  marriage  question. 

The  women  of  Mormondom  have  thus  far  decided 
on  the  marriage  order  of  the  patriarchs  of  Israel ; 
for  they  have  the  Israelitish  genius  and  conception 
of  the  object  of  man's  creation.  In  the  everlasting 
covenant  of  marriage  they  have  considered  and 
honored  their  God-father  and  God-mother. 

In  turn,  the  Gentile  woman  must  decide  the  mar- 


550  THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM. 

riage  question  for  herself.  The  law  of  God  and 
nature  is  the  same  to  her.  The  question  still  is  the 
woman's.  She  can  decide  with  or  without  God,  as 
seemeth  her  best ;  but  the  Mormon  woman  has  de- 
cided upon  the  experience  and  righteousness  of  her 
Heavenly  Father  and  her  Heavenly  Mother. 

A  certain  manifest  destiny  has  made  the  marriage 
problem  the  supreme  of  Mormonism.  How  sug- 
gestive, in  this  view,  is  the  fact  that  Congress,  by 
special  legislation,  has  made  polygamy  the  very 
alpha  and  omega  of  the  Mormon  problem.  The 
Mormon  women,  therefore,  must  perforce  of  circum- 
stances, by  their  faith  and  action  greatly  influence 
the  future  destiny  of  Mormonism. 

The  enfranchisement  of  the  Mormon  women  was 
suggested  by  the  country,  to  give  them  the  power 
to  rule  their  own  fate  and  to  choose  according  to 
their  own  free  will.  Nothing  but  their  free  will  can 
now  prevail. 

Their  Legislature  enfranchised  them — gave  them 
the  power  absolute,  not  only  to  determine  their  own 
lives,  but  to  hold  the  very  destiny  of  Utah. 

If  it  was  Brigham  Young  who  gave  to  them  that 
unparalleled  power,  no  matter  what  should  be  de- 
clared by  the  enemy  as  his  motive,  then  has  he  done 
more  for  woman  than  any  man  living.  But  Mor- 
mon apostles  and  representatives  executed  this 
grand  charter  of  woman's  rights;  and  George  Q. 
Cannon's  noble  declaration  at  the  time — that  the 
charter  of  female  suffrage  ought  to  be  extended  to 
the  entire  republic — is  deserving  the  acclamations 
of  the  women  of  America. 

New  civilizations   are   the  chiefest  boons  of  hu- 


THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM.  551 

manity.  Never  was  a  new  civilization  more  needed 
than  now,  for  in  the  last  century  the  world  has 
rushed  over  the  track-way  of  a  thousand  years.  A 
train  dashing  forward  at  the  rate  of  one  hundred 
miles  an  hour  would  not  be  in  more  danger  than 
will  soon  be  society,  unless  a  safety-valve — a  new 
civilization — is  opened. 

This  is  the  woman's  age.  The  universal  voice  of 
society  proclaims  the  fact.  Woman  must,  therefore, 
lay  the  corner-stone  of  the  new  civilization.  Her 
arm  will  be  most  potent  in  rearing  the  glorious 
structure  of  the  future.  Man  cannot  prevent  it,  for 
in  it  is  a  divine  intending. 

There  is  a  providence  in  the  very  attitude  of  the 
Mormon  women.  The  prophesy  is  distinctly  pro- 
nounced in  the  whole  history  of  their  lives,  that 
they  shall  be  apostolic  to  the  age. 

A  new  apostleship  is  ever  innovative.  The  Mor- 
mon women  have  established  an  astounding  innova- 
tion in  polygamy  It  has  been  infinitely  offensive. 
So  much  the  better  !  For  it  has  made  a  great  noise 
in  the  world,  and  has  shaken  the  old  and  rotten 
institutions  of  Christendom.  That  shaking  was  not 
only  inevitable,  but  necessary,  before  a  new  civiliza- 
tion, i 


We  have  seen  the  daughters  of  Zion,  with  her 
sons,  establish  their  institutions  upon  the  founda- 
tion of  new  revelation.  We  have  seen  them  rearing 
temples  to  the  august  name  of  the  God  of  Israel. 
We  have  seen  their  matchless  faith,  their  devotion, 
their  heroism. 


552  THE    WOMEN    OF    MORMONDOM. 

We  have  seen  them,  because  of  their  fidelity  to 
their  religion,  driven  from  city  to  city  and  from 
State  to  State. 

We  have  seen  them  in  the  awful  hour  of  martyr- 
dom. 

We  have  seen  them  in  the  exodus  of  modern  Israel 
from  Gentile  civilization,  following  their  Moses. 

The  daughters  of  Zion  were  going  up  to  the 
chambers  of  the  mountains,  to  hide  from  the  op- 
pressor till  the  day  of  their  strength. 

Their  banners  were  then  their  pioneer  whips. 
Their  banner  now  is  female  suffrage — on  it  inscribed, 
"  Woman's  Rights  !  in  the  name  of  the  God  of 
Israel !" 

Fifty  thousand  of  the  daughters  of  Zion  !  Each 
with  her  banner ! 

We  have  seen  them  on  the  cross,  with  their  crown 
of  thorns.  We  shall  see  them  on  their  throne,  with 
their  crown  of  glory.  In  this  is  divine  and  ever- 
lasting justice. 

They  have  sown  in  tears  •  they  shall  reap  in  glad- 
ness. 

With  their  pioneer  whips  in  their  hands  they  came 
up  to  the  chambers  of  refuge,  as  exiles. 

With  the  scepter  of  woman's  rights,  they  will  go 
down  as  apostles  to  evangelize  the  nation. 

"  Who  is  she  that  looketh  forth  as  the  morning, 
"  fair  as  the  moon,  clear  as  the  sun,  and  terrible  as 
"  an  army  with  banners  ?" 

The  Daughter  of  Zion  ! 


